A New World
by BuffyL
Summary: UPDATED WITH CHAPTER 13! Buffy's not who you think she is. R
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Buffy felt the wooden tip of the Slayer's stake penetrate her back and then her heart. It was over. She had gone after Angelus' killer and the damn Slayer had bested her too. Now she felt her demonic spirit lift from her crumbling body. After 300 years of living... Well, un-living, it was over.

Or at least, she thought it was. Buffy opened her eyes and looked around. She was laying in wet grass in a cemetery. "What the..." Her body was suddenly wracked with a cough and Buffy felt like her insides were on fire as they tried to force their way up her esophagus. Then she felt it. The sickening beat of a heart inside her chest. "What the hell is going on here?"

Buffy struggled to her feet and looked around. She was definitely in a graveyard and she was definitely human. But how. She replayed the last moments of her vampiric life. The Slayer had tricked her with magicks. She hadn't been where Buffy had thought and then the stake and now this. A tingle went down her spine and Buffy whirled to find three humans standing behind her.

"Buffy! What are you doing?" The red headed girl asked.

"Excuse me?" Buffy felt a wave of dizziness and she lurched forward. The tall male caught her and steadied her.

"You should be in bed." He said to her.

"Yeah. Half the school is out with this flu. It's serious. We're all concerned with how awful you look." The dark haired girl said.

"What's going on?" Buffy asked, pushing away from the boy. "Who are you people?"

"What?" The boy asked. "Buff, it's us..." Buffy stared at them, completely confused. "Me Xander, you Buffy."

"I know who I am." She snapped at him. "It's you who I don't know."

"Wow, this flu must be worse than we thought." The red headed girl said. "She's losing it."

"Awe, so soon?" A familiar voice said behind her. "And I didn't even get to have fun with her yet."

Buffy wheeled around, a smile growing on her face. "Angelus!" She went to throw herself into his arms, but he must have thought it was an attack because she felt his fist connect with her cheekbone and her human body went down with another wave of dizziness.

"What's the matter, lover? Not feeling well?" Angelus started to lower himself down to her, but then Xander, Willow, and Cordelia were on him.

Buffy struggled to gain some sort of composure, but the spinning her head seemed to be doing made anything of the sort impossible. She focused on the ground below her, trying to make the world stop spinning. Grasping the headstone in front of her, she struggled to pull herself to her feet. She lost track of the others as she felt the world slip away again and she blacked out.

"Buffy!" Xander rushed over to her as Angelus walked away from them. "Buffy?"

"We have to get her to the hospital." Willow said.

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When Buffy awoke, she was laying in a hospital bed attached to beeping machines and bags of fluid. She still felt sick, but she had no clue why. Who had those humans been? Why had Angelus attacked her as he had? Never in the 200 plus years they had been together had he ever raised his hand against her unless she had asked him to. Now she found herself human and sick and hospitalized.

"Oh, you're awake." A nurse said, walking in. "Your friends are worried about you."

"Friends? I have no friends."

"So who were the people that brought you in here? Kind strangers just passing by?"

"Do not mock me!" The nurse raised her eyebrow, but continued to check the machines and bags of fluid. "Tell me, what year and place is this?"

The nurse just shook her head and said, "This is 1998 and you're in Sunnydale Medical."

"Sunnydale? Where is that?"

"California." Buffy tried to sit up, but the nurse pressed her back down. "You just need to stay here and rest. That hit you took to your head must have been worse than we thought. I'll get the doctor."

"No!" Buffy pushed the nurse away and found that she could do it with ease. There was a moment of confusion, but Buffy shoved it aside and got up out of the bed.

"Stop!" The nurse yelled.

Buffy punched her, knocking her out cold, and then headed for the door. A stinging sensation in her arm stopped her and she ripped the IVs from her arm. The machines started to beep wildly and Buffy ripped the plug from the wall. She grabbed the jacket lying on the chair near the door and slipped it on. Luckily they hadn't put her in one of those ghastly robes and she was still in sweat pants and a small T-Shirt.

As quietly as she could manage, she slipped from the room and down the hallway. Searching, Buffy tried to find an exit sign, but instead found herself rounding a corner into a waiting room where the humans were waiting. She back peddled, almost losing her balance, and hid around the corner.

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"She had no clue who we were, Giles!" Willow said.

"And she practically threw herself at Angelus." Cordelia said.

"I'm sure it's just the flu." Giles said. "It's been pretty bad at the school and the news says it could get worse before..."

"Giles, it's gotta be more than a flu. Maybe Angelus has done something to her." Xander said.

"Like what?"

"I don't know. Put a spell on her!"

"Yeah!" Willow agreed.

"I've never heard of Angelus putting a spell on someone to drive them crazy. It doesn't fit his repertoire." Giles said. "Then again, Buffy is a Slayer, therefore she's a... a beautiful challenge to him. He loves going after Slayers, but now that his souled counterpart has fallen for Buffy... I can't imagine the tortures he might think up."

"Yeah, he's been pretty brutal so far." Cordelia said. They all paused, remembering the late Jenny Calendar.

"Yes, well... Buffy's in danger while she's incapacitated here. We cannot leave her alone."

"I agree." Xander said. "Maybe we should work in shifts."

"Yes, that's a good idea, Xander. I suppose you'll want the first shift."

"Of course."

"What about Buffy's mom?" Willow asked.

"What about her?" Cordelia asked.

"Well, she'll want to know how Buffy got that bruise on her cheek and why she's in the hospital. Has anyone called her?"

"I just got off the phone with her." Giles said. "She's in LA at the moment, but she's going to try and make it home within the next day. I assured her that Buffy was fine and that we would watch over her until she returned to Sunnydale."

"Oh."

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Buffy was dumbfounded for a moment. A Slayer? She was a Slayer? How had this happened? That little Slayer tramp Amerie had done this somehow. She had used her witchcraft and her Slayer's blood to send Buffy to this terrible world where she herself was the Slayer and Angelus was trying to kill her instead of seduce her. And this Slayer that she had become was not a traditional Slayer. She had friends. She had a mother. That was just... wrong. This whole place was wrong.

Turning away, Buffy walked the opposite way and slipped into another hallway. She searched harder for an exit, fighting off another wave of dizziness. A red exit sign glowed above a doorway to her right and she shoved it open. All around her, alarms went off. It was a fire exit. As best she could, Buffy ran across the parking lot that stood in front of her. She ducked behind a van towards the end of a row of cars just to catch her breath and fight off more nausea. Damn her humanity. Damn that Amerie.

Catching her wits, Buffy got to her feet and ran off into the night.

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Angelus watched the hospital closely. Buffy was supposed to be in there, but people were streaming out due to a fire alarm that had been triggered. Someone towards the rear exit was talking about one of the nurses being attacked and a patient may have escaped. He was starting to lose interest in them when a motion in the corner of his eye caught his attention. It was a little blonde figure running awkwardly away from the hospital.

Angelus would recognize that lithe body anywhere. It was Buffy. He smiled. The hunt was once again on and her little friends wouldn't get in his way this time. Turning away from the hospital, he silently ran after Buffy. She was moving at a much slower pace than he knew she was capable of and her movements were jerky. Every now and then, she seemed to almost topple over, but she was a fighter and she fought to stay on her feet.

Something was off about her. He couldn't place what, but even in the graveyard he had felt it. If it hadn't of been for those damn humans, he could have investigated further. Now... Now she had no clue he was behind her. But where the hell was she going. She acted like she had no clue where she was.

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_Oh this damn place!_ Buffy thought. She was lost. Sunnydale! There was no Sunnydale in her world. She missed her world. She had been feared the world over and a revered leader of the underworld for over 250 years. She had been made by Darla in 1705. Darla had been intrigued by Buffy's beauty and her manipulative nature. One night, Buffy had been walking boldly by herself through her estate's garden when Darla had offered her eternal life.

Without hesitation, Buffy had bared her neck and allowed herself to be turned. Over the years, Buffy and Darla had become close, but eventually they had wanted more than just the company of each other. In 1753, they had gone to Ireland and Darla had discovered a beautiful human being. His name had been Liam and he had been such a scoundrel. Unfortunately for Darla, Liam had taken to Buffy instead. Pissed off, Darla had abandoned Buffy in Ireland with Liam. Deciding that Liam would make a perfect match for her, Buffy had changed him in the heat of passion.

For over 200 years, Buffy and Angelus, as he had renamed himself after his sister had mistaken him for her brother's angelic spirit, had torn a bloody path wherever they went. Even the Master, the oldest living vampire and the most powerful, had shown them the proper respect. Darla had seemingly disappeared after the Liam incident. It hadn't slowed Buffy and Angelus down in the least bit. They were passionate about their kills and their love for each other. They loved hunting Slayers. It was a hobby for them. Over their 250 plus years together, they had killed countless Slayers.

But that all changed when they had gone after Amerie. The Slayer had been special. She had been born to a powerful witch and tapped as a Potential. Her Watcher had been highly skilled in fighting, but unfortunately for her, not the magicks. No amount of magic could have saved the Watcher from Buffy and Angelus. They had brutally raped and murdered the woman and left her for the Slayer to find. It had driven Amerie over the edge and the Slayer had began to train herself in fighting and learning to harness her powers as a witch.

Angelus had gone after Amerie's mother and left her broken corpse in Amerie's bed. Instead of breaking the Slayer's spirit, it had spurred Amerie on. The two vampires worked tirelessly at finding new ways to torture Amerie. They had even changed Amerie's lover into a vampire, but that had only pissed her off further. One night, Angelus and Buffy had been hunting a young man that Buffy had become slightly obsessed with on the side when Amerie had taken them by surprise. She had fought well and used her magicks against them. Buffy had managed to escape Amerie, but Angelus hadn't been so lucky. Amerie had made sure Buffy had seen her beloved Angelus' demise. She had left the vampire screaming and crying over her dead lover's ashes.

Buffy had been foolish to think that she could have taken that Slayer on by herself. She should have just gone to find Darla and begged her help. Instead, she was now stuck in a sickened Slayer's body, stumbling through a town that didn't even exist in the world she had known and loved. And a tingling in her spine told her someone was following her. _Great, I look like a puny human, which I am, AND I'm sick._ It didn't even occur to her that it could be Angelus. And then the world started to spin around her again. She fought as hard as she could, but her body couldn't handle it any more. She toppled over, fully expecting to hit the ground, but something stopped her. She didn't have time to see who it was as she lost consciousness.

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When she finally regained consciousness, the first thing that she realized was that she wasn't lying in wet, cold grass. She was lying in a big, warm bed and a fire was burning in a fireplace across the room. For some reason, she expected to be tied up, but to her surprise, she wasn't. A part of her was a little disappointed.

"What are you going to do with her, then?" An English voice asked. She didn't recognize the voice, so she knew it wasn't that Giles guy.

"I was thinking of keeping her here. Letting her get well again... And then I'll kill her." Buffy knew that voice.

"And you don't think you should tie her up? When she wakes up, she'll try to run."

"Then I'll be here to catch her." There was a sound of metal banging on concrete and then a door slammed.

Buffy finally found the strength to slowly sit up and look around the room. There he stood, looking as beautiful as the last night she had seen him. He stared at her, waiting for her to say something. It seemed like he expected her to try and run because his stance wasn't as casual as she remembered it. He looked slightly ready to pounce. "I'm not going to run." She said.

"Really?" He arched an eyebrow at her.

"I really don't know why you think I would."

Angelus looked surprised and slightly amused at that. "I have every reason to think that you would run."

Buffy decided to ignore him. She looked down at her body. It was the same as before. Her hair was shorter than she liked. It didn't matter, as soon as she figured out how to get back to her world and destroy Amerie, she would work on getting her Angelus back. She eyed the Angelus standing across the room. Then again, maybe the answer wasn't so hard to that last task. "Uck! This body is disgusting." She looked at Angelus. "Do you have a shower and some clothes I could change into? Maybe if I could get clean, I could think straight and this whole situation wouldn't be so bad."

Angelus snorted. "Do you really think I'm letting you out of my sight?"

She rolled her eyes. "Then come join me. You've never held yourself back before."

He looked stunned. "What?"

"Oh, that's right. You're supposed to be trying to torture and kill me, not play our usual games... Well, not that those aren't our usual games. I guess here, you're really trying to torture and kill me. Damn, I hate this place."

"I didn't hit you that hard. Maybe it's the flu that's got your head so out of it."

"Please, Angelus, I am above these petty human feelings and weaknesses."

"Or maybe it's not the flu."

"Oh, is the chimp catching on now?"

His face contorted to rage for a moment, but then he calmed himself and stared at her. "Don't push your luck, Slayer."

"Oh! How dare you curse that name upon me! Slayer!" She spat the word out. "Slayer! I hate the very thought of it!" Buffy pushed herself to her feet and glared at Angelus. "If you ever use that word against me again, I won't hesitate to..." She stopped. What was she saying? Her Angelus stood right in front of her. Whole. Undead. "Oh, Angelus..." She rushed over to him and threw her arms around his neck. "My Angelus!" Buffy relished the feel of him again. After two weeks without him and a night's ordeal, she felt momentarily at peace. Until he pushed her off of him.

"What is wrong with you? We're enemies! I hate you. You hate me."

"Oh don't be silly."

"I've been trying to drive you crazy and kill you for the past five months! I expected some insanity from you, but this! I have no clue what THIS even is!"

Now Buffy was angry. He had insulted her AND pushed her away. A string of curses and threats flew from her mouth in Italian, her favorite language. She even used his real name, a name she only used when she was incredibly mad at him, instead of Angelus. It ended with her shoving him into the wall and storming across the room to stare into the fireplace.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Angelus stared in bewilderment and fascination at Buffy. She had called him Liam and yelled at him Italian. Buffy didn't know Italian or that his original name had once been Liam. When he had been souled, they had never talked about his past life before he had become a vampire. She knew that he had been a womanizing drunk layabout, but she hadn't known his name. And as far as he could remember, his original name had never been printed in any books. His former persona hadn't been even worth mentioning.

"I hate this world." Buffy said quietly as she stared at the flames.

"How do you know that name... Liam?" Angelus asked, cautiously walking closer to Buffy.

"Because I made you."

"You made me?"

"Yes!" She wheeled on him. "It was that damn Slayer that did this to me!"

"Buffy?"

"No! Amerie! That stupid little half witch used her powers against me... and now I am to know her fate as a Slayer! And worst of all, I am never to know my Angelus again." For the first time since she had lost Angelus, she began to cry. It wasn't like her to cry, but she had loved Angelus with all of her cold, un-beating heart. A heart which was now pounding in her chest and rushing blood in a noisy cacophony in her ears. Her head began to swirl again and she reached out to grasp the fireplace mantle to keep from falling.

"What happened to you tonight? One minute you're a sick Slayer, the next you're crying over... me."

"She took you from me. I went to avenge your death, but she used her tricks on me and now... Now I'm here. In this wretched Slayer's body!" She reeled again and this time, her arm didn't hold her up. Angelus was there, holding her up and then carrying her back to the bed. "Thank you."

He gently laid her in bed and then sat beside her as she slowly fell asleep. As he studied her, he noticed her eyes were not the eyes of the stupid Slayer, but they seemed much older suddenly. And slightly sinister. As she finally drifted off, he decided to go out and find her some clothes and bring her towels so she could take a shower. A kindness he would never allow had he not felt a flickering of something curious in him.

"Did Daddy bring me a present?" Drusilla asked as Angelus walked out of his room.

"Don't touch her Dru." Angelus growled. "She's mine, no one else's."

"What's all this, then?" Spike asked, wheeling over next to Angelus. "Where are you going?"

"Out. If either of you or anyone else goes in that room, you will never see another moon. Am I understood?" Spike and Dru nodded and Angelus walked out.

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"She punched the nurse?" Willow asked. "I don't understand."

"And apparently she also said that she had no clue who we were." Giles said.

"She said that in the cemetery." Cordelia said. "She was really confused when she saw us."

"It's the flu." Xander said. "Maybe it's mystcal. Maybe Angelus is doing this to her."

"I doubt that." Giles said.

"Well, he's been trying to kill her for the past four months! He hasn't suceeded, so maybe he's resorting to something Buffy can't fight."  
"Magic?" Willow asked. "Does Angelus know how to do magic?"

"Not very well." Giles said.

"We've got to find her before Joyce comes back." Xander said.

"Yes." He looked at the teenagers that were so close to Buffy's heart. They loved her and would do anything for her. Even Cordelia had become more active in their little group. "We'll split up, then. Willow and Oz go together and Cordelia and Xander go to together. Look for places you know Buffy would go and then look for places where you know she wouldn't go. In fact, I would start with the latter first."

"What about LA?" Cordelia said.

"No. I'm sure she wouldn't go there. But just in case, I'll make some calls up there to some friends of mine." They four teens looked skeptical. "We'll find her."

"We better." Xander said.

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Buffy woke up to find Angelus sitting in a chair across the room staring at her. There were clothes on the bed along with a towel and some vanilla scented shampoo. She coughed violently as she sat up and leaned back against the headboard. "So, you've finally come to your senses?" She asked.

"I'm not sure." Angelus said, not moving. "I want you to get cleaned up and feeling a little better before I talk to you."

Buffy snarled at him. "Who are you to tell me what to do?" Then she started coughing again.  
Angelus smirked and stood up, walking over to loom over her. "I don't want to talk around your coughing fits. There's medicine in the bathroom." With that, he walked out of the room.

Buffy sighed and got out of bed. She turned the hot water on full blast and stood in the shower for an hour. The steam made her lungs ache less and her body relax. She felt much cleaner after the shower. With a cringe, she downed some of the aweful tasting medicine and then brushed out her hair. She looked at her reflection in the mirror. She looked horrible. Her skin had tints of gray and red them. There were bags under her eyes and severe dark circles. With a sudden burst of anger and frustration, she punched the mirror, shattering it. Leaving the shards of glass on the floor, she walked out into the bedroom and got dressed. Angelus had broght her a pair of tight black jeans and a burgandy tank top that resembled a corset. The clothes clung to her body and for a moment, she felt like her old self again. She slipped on a pair of socks and decided to leave the boots off her feet.

She listened closely to see if she could pick up any sounds of Angelus. There was no one in the house that she could hear. Quietly, she sat down on the bed and stared at the roaring fire. She had always loved fire. It was beautiful and warm and seductive. But it was dangerous. A killer of lives and dreams. She had used it more than once in torturing Slayers. Her mind drifted back to her old memories, remembering the screams and the passion between her and Angelus. Angelus stood in the doorway, watching her. She sat there with her eyes closed, slightly swaying and a small smile tugging at her lips. He wondered for a moment what she was thinking about.

"Spain." She said quietly.

Angelus looked at her. "What?"  
"I was thinking about that Slayer in Spain." Buffy opened her eyes and looked at him. "That was one of our finest kills."

"Interesting." Angelus sat down in his chair and stared at her intently. "Who are you?"

"How long do I have before you just decide to kill me?" Angelus seemed stunned that she would ask that. "Oh please, I can read you like an open book, Angelus."

"However long it takes. If I'm intrigued at the end, I'll let you live."

Buffy rolled her eyes. "Whatever." So, she started at the beginning.

_Elizabeth walked through her family's gardens, admiring the night blooming jasmines. She was bored out of her mind and angry with her parents. They were asking her to marry finally. Elizabeth didn't want to. She wanted to see the world and have everything her way. There had been a woman stalking her recently. A young blonde woman that slightly resembled Elizabeth herself. There was something intriging about the woman. Like she had secrets that only Elizabeth should know about._

_Tonight, Elizabeth wandered the garden's in Italy, hoping the woman would stalk her tonight. So, when she appeared out of nowhere and approached her, Elizabeth was delightfully surprised. Darla offered her the world that night and Elizabeth took it without hesitation. The next night was the beginning of something grand. For years, she and Darla roamed the world killing at random, bedding young males, then killing them and taking their money. They lived in high style. Then one day, they realized they were starting to get bored with each other. Darla suggested going to Ireland. Elizabeth hadn't wanted to at first, but she caved in and went. There, they discovered Liam. Darla had claimed him as hers and told Elizabeth she planned to change him. It was a chance meeting that Liam found Elizabeth. She had been looking for someone to kill and he had drunkenly stumbled upon her. She had considered it, but Liam had somehow managed to charm her. They secretly began to rendez-vous in his room at his manor. _

_For a year, Liam and Elizabeth courted without Darla ever finding out. Elizabeth couldn't understand why she couldn't bring herself to kill Liam. He was just a human, but she had begun to fall for him with all of her black heart. The night before Darla had planned to change Liam was the night that Liam's father had discovered Elizabeth and Liam together. The morning after, Liam had declared his love for Elizabeth and his father had become enraged. He and Liam had gotten into the biggest fight they had ever gotten into and Liam had left. He had gone searching for Elizabeth, begging her to take him into her world. That was when Darla had discovered them. She had walked in, enraged that Liam hadn't been where she had planned. Then she had found Liam crying in Elizabeth's lap as Elizabeth comforted him. Darla had screamed and tried to kill Elizabeth, but Liam had managed to save Elizabeth, taking the stake in his right shoulder. Darla told them that they deserved each other and she had stormed out of the room._

_Buffy, as Liam loved to call her, had cared for the injured Liam and later that night, after he had gone to sleep, she had crawled into bed with him and watched him sleep. She was still watching him when he woke up the next morning. Buffy asked him if it was truly what he wanted and he had answered her with more certainty than any human ever had. She kissed him deeply and began to undress them. They made love three times and on the third time, Buffy had bitten in Liam and changed him as her orgasm swept over her. Just to be cruel to Liam's family, Buffy had left his body in his family's garden for his mother to find. They buried Liam in the cemetery the next day and Buffy had come for him that night. She waited and Liam crawled from his grave. From then on, they were forever united._

_Liam became Angelus, loving the fact that his little sister Kathy had mistaken him for her brother's angelic form. After Angelus had discovered Slayers, he had become obsessed with hunting them down and killing them. Buffy had fallen for the game too and together, they devised new ways of torturing and killing Slayers. They also relished in hunting other humans, practicing their new tactics on them. Angelus had discovered a little nun in England by the name of Drusilla. He had started an infatuation with her, killing her family, driving her insane. Buffy became extremely jealous and had left for Russia, abandoning Angelus in England. He in turn abandoned Drusilla to her insanity and her convent and had followed Buffy. They were reunited in Moscow and from there, went to China for the Boxer Rebellion where they discovered the Chinese Slayer. The Chinese Slayer had literally been turned inside out during their long and brutal torture of her. Buffy and Angelus had decided to head over to the Americas where they lived in all the major cities over the years. New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Washington DC, Seattle, Huston, and so on. _

_Then they heard of a Slayer in Hawaii. The girl was intriguing. She was half witch and a Slayer. Amerie the Vampire Slayer. Buffy and Angelus had pursued her with an intensity they had never before shown in the hunt of a Slayer. They raped and murdered her Watcher. They changed her lover. Angelus had destroyed her mother. They killed everyone she ever came in contact with. Then, for months, Amerie disappeared. Angelus and Buffy searched for her, but she was just gone. They had assumed she'd killed herself. So, they had gone back to Europe... Back to Italy, the country Buffy loved so much. After they had been there for about a year, there were murmurings of a Slayer in the Americas and she was using powerful magicks to torture the demons she came in contact with. Amerie was hunting them now. Buffy hadn't been worried. They were in Italy and Amerie was in the US. She wouldn't come to Europe. She didn't have the money. Buffy had been wrong. Amerie had found them and used her magicks against them. She had made sure Buffy had seen her lover die. She had left Buffy there screaming and crying over Angelus' ashes._

_Buffy had vowed vengeance. The thought crossed her mind to find Darla, but she had pushed it aside, choosing to find the Slayer on her own. A week later, Buffy had found Amerie and the little Slayer-Witch had used her magicks once again and this time... This time she had sealed Buffy's fate. Locking her in the body of a Slayer with the memories of what she had once been._

Buffy stared at Angelus watching her intently. "I will return to my world one way or another and I will destroy Amerie once and for all. I made a vow and I will honor it."

"Is that it, then?" Angelus asked.

"That's most of it. Would you like more details. There was one Slayer that we hooked to this interesting machine..."

"No. I love details, but... I must say, I'm highly intrigued here. I mean, no way could Buff think anything like THAT story up. That was... Well, touching. Really."

"You mock me."

"No, really. It was actually touching." Buffy eyed him warily. "I feel something, here. Something for you, that is."

"You've felt something for this Slayer, have you not?"

"Yes, hatred."

"No. Love. You've felt love for her. I can smell it."

"It was my souled half that loved her."

"No. It was you. You've fallen for her." Angelus growled at her, but Buffy laughed. "You've tried over and over to kill her and you've failed each time and your hatred... It's blossomed into love for her."

"Obsession, I will give you that."

"No. Obsession is what we... Angelus and I had for Amerie. We would never love her. You feel something for this Slayer. Admit it." Angelus grabbed her by the neck and pinned her to the sheets. Buffy just laughed. "Come here, baby. Let me make it better for you." She stroked his cheeks and chest with her fingers, caressing everything within her reach. Angelus' arousal became evident as he slowly released his grip and Buffy continued. Suddenly, he was on top of her, crushing her beneath his weight. She flipped them, grinding hard into his pelvis with her hips. He groaned and Buffy pressed her lips to his, forgetting about her illness. She pinned his arms above his head and bit his earlobe. Then she whispered, "Change me back, Angelus. Restore me."

He shoved her off of him and onto the floor. She stared up at him, shocked. "Why should I?"

"Because I'll take you back with me." She stood up defiently. "You can be Angelus once again."

"I am Angelus."

"You were Angelus." She snarled. "Here, you're just another vampire. You're name has been forgotten because you've spent the last century with a soul and only when you were in the arms of a Slayer did you become Angelus again. And even now you cannot kill this one. Angelus! Pft! You are just Angel here. Nothing to be feared."

Angelus pinned her against the wall harshly. "I'll make you pay."

"How? I'm already alive in this wretched body. If you don't change me, I'll find some low life half wit to do it. One way or another, I will have my revenge."

Angelus backed away from her a few steps and stared at her. "I'll change you on one condition."

"What's that?"

"You help me kill the Slayer's friends and Watcher. I want to see their faces knowing that their Buffy is dead as they die with her."

She chuckled. "Fine. It's a deal."

Angelus moved back towards her and caressed her body. Slowly, he reached down and grabbed her thigh, pulling it up around his hip. He watched her reaction as he unzipped her pants and slipped his hand inside her, stroking her. She moaned and arched towards him, her eyes never leaving his. He stroked harder, holding her thigh to his hip. Just as she was about to reach her peak, he pulled away and threw her on the bed. She sat up, breathing heavily, and pulled off her top as Angelus stripped himself down. He helped her wriggle out of her pants and he returned the favor she had bestowed upon Liam all those decades ago in another world.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"Any luck?" Willow asked as Xander and Cordelia walked into the library. The sun was coming up outside and there had been no sign of Buffy.

Xander shook his head and flopped down in chair. "We looked everywhere we could think of. We even looked in places we didn't think of."

"Do you think Angelus..."

"I think it might not be out of the question." Giles said sadly. "We just have to keep searching. She couldn't have just disappeared off the face of the earth."

"But we've got school tomorrow... Today."

"I'm up for skipping it." Xander said.

"Me too." Cordy said. "I mean, these black circles are going to take days to get rid of."

"Because that's a dire issue at this point."

"It's not my fault Buffy went phscitzo and jumped town."

"She didn't jump town."

"Enough." Giles said. "This bickering isn't helping us find Buffy. We may have more luck finding her in the daytime. The vampires can't go out in direct sunlight, so we have an advantage there."

"Where do we look?" Xander asked. "Cordy and I went all over Sunnydale."

"You don't think she really left town?" Willow asked.

"I don't think she would." Giles said. "Then again, if she has had some sort of memory loss... I just don't know."

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Buffy awoke faster than Angelus had ever seen a new vampire come back. It hadn't even been nine hours and it was still daylight outside. He watched as she sat up suddenly with a gasp. She was naked, but she had no intentions of covering up. She was back. She was Buffy again. And Amerie was going to pay.

"Was it that quick your first time too?" Angelus asked, enjoying the view.

"I don't remember. It was over 300 years ago. And really, after the night we had... Is that a question that should be asked?" Buffy looked around and then stood up and stretched. Her muscles felt tighter and ready to spring. "Something's different."

Angelus smiled. "Your body was that of a Slayer's, babe. Now it's the body of a vampire and a Slayer. Twenty times more powerful that what you're used to." Buffy purred and stretched out her arm, watching her hand move gracefully like a ballet dancer's. "Are you hungry?"

"A little." Buffy rolled her head and then gave Angelus a dark stare. "But not for blood."

Angelus was up in an instant, pinning her against the wall. He crushed his lips to hers and spread her legs, pulling one thigh up to rest on his hip. He was about to enter her violently when there was a loud squeal from the doorway and they turned to see Drusilla standing there, near tears. Buffy was confused. She knew this girl. Angelus had begun an infatuation with her in the late 1800s, but Buffy had lured him back to her. She had left for Russia without him while he had been out stalking Drusilla. When he had returned to their apartment to find Buffy gone, he had decided to forget about the little nun and follow Buffy. She had known it would work and their reunion had been all night and all day and very violent.

"Oooh... What have you done?" Dru screamed. "You've taken him away from us!" She pointed at Buffy. "All gone! Not right."

"What the hell is she talking about?" Buffy asked, storming over to the bed and slipping on Angelus' shirt.

"I can never really tell." Angelus said. "She gets visions."

"I know. You were obsessed with her for the longest time. I left for Russia without you and you came back to me."

Drusilla shook her head. "All wrong. Not the Slayer."

Spike rolled into the room and stopped short, staring at Buffy. "What the... What's going on!"

Angelus stepped up to Spike and blocked his view of Buffy. "The game's changed, Spikey. As soon as we finish my business here, I'm moving up."

"Moving up?"

"Well, out and up." Angelus turned around and retrieved his pants.

"Out and up? What the hell are you talking about? Is she a vampire? Are you insane? Changing a Slayer?"

"Well, she asked so nicely." Angelus ran a finger down Buffy's cheekbone.

"The mean Slayer is taking Daddy away from us, Spike."

"Then let him go!" Spike said. "Let him stay with the Slayer and see how fast she turns on him. Once a Slayer, always a Slayer."

"That's where you're wrong." Angelus said, moving slowly around Buffy running his fingers up and down her body sensually, making her purr. "This beautiful creature in front of you is not the Slayer. She merely looks like the Slayer. This... is Elizabeth. She was first turned in 1701 by Darla and in 1753, she turned me..." Angelus glanced at the bed. "Much in the same way I just turned her."

"Now I'm confused. You've both lost your minds, then, eh?"

"This, Spike, is not the Buffy from this world. This is a Buffy from a different world. She was killed by a Slayer who's half witch. For reasons unknown to her, she was sent here. And I couldn't let her stay in the condition she was in. What kind of demon would I be if I was to leave such a magnificent creature locked inside a shell of a Slayer?"

"Not a very good one, I would say." Buffy said.

"And so would I."

"So what's your brilliant plan?" Spike asked. "You've changed the Slayer or Elizabeth or whoever this is, the Slayer's friends probably don't know you have her or that you've changed her or that she's not their Buffy for that matter..."

"Which is why it's going to be so much fun killing them." Buffy said.

"You're going to kill them?"

"It's going to be quite a ride." Angelus said. "The looks on their faces when they discover everything at the last instant of their lives. I couldn't have asked for a better ending to my last few days here."

"Last days?"

"After it's all over... I'm going back with Buffy. Her world sounds like so much more fun than this one is. Here, I've spent the last hundred years with a soul. As much as it pains me to admit it, people have forgotten who Angelus really is."

"You could show them again." Drusilla said.

Angelus shrugged. "What can I say? I'm an opportunist. And this, my genius challenged friends, is the opportunity of a lifetime... Or five. But who's counting?"

"Quite the blaze of glory I know you love." Buffy said. She glanced at Spike and Drusilla. "It's time to get things started, Angelus. Amerie still awaits her fate and I don't want to keep her in suspense."

"I doubt she's in suspense, baby. She thinks we're dead."

Buffy shrugged. "She should know death isn't always the end."

"And we'll prove that to her soon enough. But first..."

"The Slayer's friends." Buffy was a little annoyed at the simplicity of his plan to destroy the Slayer's friends. It wasn't very Angelus-like. No matter. By the time she found her way back to her world, that would all be changed. He would be the feral and brutal Angelus she knew and loved. She had taken advantage of his softness and gotten him to change her. Of course, Buffy knew that Angelus' only weakness was for her. Maybe it rang true for this one, too. Maybe in hating the Slayer... Angelus had actually loved her. A sickening thought, but it had saved her, so she shouldn't complain too much.

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Joyce Summers was confused. Her daughter was not in the hospital where Mr. Giles had promised she would be. Apparently, Buffy had freaked out and punched one of the nurses before she ran off into the night. No one had heard from her since. Joyce now sat in the library of Sunnydale High School staring dumbfounded at Mr. Giles. He and Buffy's friends had been looking for her all day and all night with no luck. Joyce couldn't think of where her daughter could have gone.

"She doesn't like hospitals, but I never thought she would punch a nurse and run away." Joyce said. "You don't think she could have tried going to LA, do you?"

"I can't really say." Giles said. "Buffy can be quite unpredictable sometimes and I'm afraid that now is one of those times."

"And she's sick, too. Oh, my poor little girl. She must be so scared."

"Buffy's proven more than once that she can handle herself. I'm sure she's fine."

"What if she's not? What if someone's gotten her?"

Giles looked away from Joyce. Someone indeed. And that someone was most likely the deadliest vampire to have ever lived. "I'm sure she's fine." Giles said again. He glanced out the window to see that it was almost dark. "Joyce, I think maybe you should head home. If Buffy shows up there, you'll need to call us and let us know."

Joyce nodded. "Yes. That's a good idea. Oh, my poor baby." She wrung out her hands as she stood up. "You'll keep looking, though, right?"

"Of course. Willow, Xander, and the others are all out there right now."

"Thank you. I'll call you if she shows up." Joyce nodded and walked out of the library.

Not five seconds after the door had swung closed behind her, it swung open again and Willow and Oz walked in. "Anything?" Giles asked.

Willow shook her head. "Nothing. If only we knew where Angelus was hiding out now."

"I can't even get a good scent on her." Oz said. Giles gave him a weird look. Oz pointed to himself and said, "Werewolf."

"Ah, yes." Giles said. "Has anyone talked to Cordelia and Xander?"

"We haven't heard anything from them yet." Willow said. "We talked to them about two hours ago and they were having the same luck as us." After a minute, Willow asked the big question. "She's probably dead, isn't she Giles?"

Giles wanted to answer 'no' to that question, but he just couldn't. At this point, he just didn't know. Anything was possible. Even the unthinkable.

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Buffy and Angelus watched from the roof as Xander and Cordelia came out of Willy's Bar. Cordelia shuddered and said, "Man, if I had to stay in there one more second, I was going to gag."

"There's been no sign of either Buffy or Angelus!" Xander said, slamming his fist into the side of Cordelia's car.

"Hey! If you put a dent in this, you're so paying for it. Not that you're THAT strong anyway, but still..."

"Cordy, you wanna bring your thoughts to the much more dire situation we're dealing with right now?"

"Look, I know how bad this is, but..." She trailed off.

"But what?"

"I don't want to think about it because if she's been... It's going to be worse. Since Buffy came to town, sure all kinds of freaky things have happened to me, but... A lot of good things have happened too. She keeps the demon population down enough to make this town liveable. I don't want to think about what it's going to be like without Buffy here to protect this sorry town."

Xander stared at Cordelia incredulously. She had just shown compassion. Xander was momentarily too stunned to remember why they were standing outside of a demon bar. "Wow." Was all he could say.

"Don't tell anyone I said that."

"You're secret's safe with me." Xander took Cordelia's hand and squeezed it gently and reassuringly.

She allowed the moment to happen and then she pulled away. "Someone could be watching."

Xander looked a little hurt. "Yes, because Harmony and the other Cordettes really hang around Willy's." He opened the passenger's side door and got in as Cordelia went around to get in on the driver's side.

Angelus started to stand up, but Buffy pulled him back down. She shook her head. "No. We wait."

"But..."

"No. Patience, lover." Buffy smiled and ran her fingertips over the side of Angelus' face. "So like when you were first made. Always ready to jump in."

"They're getting away." He growled.

"They're looking for me. They will not leave town. Show me where the girl lives. Cordelia."

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Xander walked out of the high school and into the night air. Giles had said that Willow and Oz had gone home for some rest and that Xander should do the same. He didn't want to, but his body was wearing down on him. He needed some sleep. He doubted it would come, though. Buffy was missing. Angelus was still on the loose. Cordelia was still rejecting him. He could break through with her every now and then, but most of the time she was trying too hard to hide their... whatever it was they had.

Xander shoved his hands deeper into his jacked pocket and continued his journey home. He had a stake in his back pocket, but something told him he wasn't going to be using it tonight. Even though Buffy was missing, the undead had been pretty quiet the last couple of nights. Hell, they'd been quiet since Angelus came back. The only uproars they'd had had been initiated by Angelus. He wished he had the power to stop him.

Xander opened his front door and locked it behind him. His dad was slumped over in his chair, fast asleep with the TV still going. Better to not turn it off. It'd wake him up and piss him off. Xander's mom was probably asleep in bed, so he was all alone. He headed up to his room and opened the door. His room was dark, so he didn't see the body laying in his bed or the two figures standing in the corner. Xander removed his jacket and tossed it over the chair in front of his desk. After a minute, he turned on the lamp on his desk and turned around. He let out a gasp and then a sickened cry.

Cordelia's lifeless eyes stared back at him. She was whiter than the sheets on his bed and both sides of her neck had been ripped to shreds. Across the wall above his bed was the word _Boo_ written in blood. A familiar laugh came from the corner and he spun to find Buffy wrapped in Angelus' arms.

"Oh God." He said, covering his mouth.

"Hello Xander." Angelus said, detangling himself from Buffy and casually strolling across the room.

"Buffy?"

"Do I know you?" Buffy asked. "I don't think we've met before. Well, except for that time in the graveyard, that is. Hmm... you didn't strike me as the type of guy I'd want to hang out with, so... What was your name again? Xanex?"

"What did you do?" Xander asked, wheeling on Angelus.

"I saved her." Angelus said.

"Saved? You murdered her!"

"She asked me to. And she asked me so nicely." Angelus licked his fingers and glanced at Buffy with an extremely turned on look.

Buffy smiled at him as Xander shook his head. "No. She wouldn't... She hates you."

"Well, the old Buffy did, apparently." Buffy said. "Me... I made him."

"Xander, Xander, Xander." Angelus clapped him on the shoulder and gripped tightly. "You wanted so badly to save her from me, but in the end... I can't take credit for this beautiful creature you see in front of you."

"Was that your father downstairs?" Buffy asked suddenly. "Yeah, he didn't taste so good. Kinda greasy. You don't taste like that, do you?" She smiled at him, revealing the small, white fangs that were new to Buffy's mouth.

"You killed... my dad?" Xander asked, trying not to hurl.

"He was so nice, letting us in and all, but he's really not a number one dad."

"Then again, if you can name one good father in this world... Then you deserve a prize." Angelus said.

"He had no clue where you were. Hell, it took us a minute to remind him that he even had a son."

"Mom?" Xander asked.

"You didn't check the kitchen?" Angelus asked. "How unlike you. Knowing you, I thought that would be the first place you would have hit before you came up here."

"You don't know me." Xander said bravely, looking Angelus in the eyes. "And you don't know her."

"Actually, YOU don't know ME." Buffy said. "I'm Elizabeth. I made Angelus about 250 years ago and I myself was first made in 1701. Second time was... last night. And what a good night it was..."

"What?"

Angelus started to advance on Xander, but Buffy pulled him back. "Let him go."

"What?" Angelus looked at Buffy, clearly stunned.

"I said, let him go."

"But..."

"Angelus!" Angelus let Xander go and Buffy pressed in close to Xander. "Tell the others about me. I'll see you tomorrow night." She reached over and took Angelus' hand, leading him out of the house.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

"What the hell was that about?" Angelus asked. "You let him leave?"

"Of course I let him leave." Buffy sighed. "He'll run and tell the others and then they'll be so busy trying to figure out who I am that they won't truly be worried about us. After all, they'll think there's actual strength in numbers."

"Are you crazy? They'll be ready for us. You don't know these people like I do."

Buffy shook her head. "All humans are fallible. They all have the same weaknesses. I don't need to know them."

"You shouldn't have let him get away. We had the element of surprise on our side and you..."

Buffy spun and slammed him against a tree. "Do not push me! I will not hesitate to stake you and be done with it." He looked confused. "Please. You are not my Angelus. You've proven it to me more than once tonight. I agreed to this plan of yours solely because I want you to become my Angelus. All of this is a lesson. One that I taught to my Angelus and one that I will teach you." Her eyes flashed golden for a moment and then she smiled, running her hand up his neck and into his hair. "All in good time, lover. You'll see before the night is out."

Angelus growled low in his chest, exasperated by Buffy's rage towards him and aroused by it at the same time. She was even more sinister and evil than he had originally thought. He suddenly found himself not wanting to disappoint her. Deciding to go along with her plan, he leaned down and kissed her gently. She smiled up at him and wrapped her arms around his waist, firmly grabbing his ass with both hands.

"Tonight, Angelus, will be the first night in a series of beautiful and arousing terror-filled nights. It will end with the Watcher giving us what I need to return to my world with you and your murder of him." Buffy said.

"I can't wait."

* * *

Xander climbed up the tree near Willow's window and jumped onto her balcony. He knocked on the door until she opened up. "Xander..."

He hugged her tightly. "Thank God, you're ok!"

"Of course I'm ok. What's wrong with you?"

"Buffy... He killed her. And they killed Cordelia. They killed my parents." The weight of it all finally hit him and he collapsed to the floor in tears.

"What? Oh my God!" Willow couldn't follow Xander to the floor. She was so shocked that her muscles didn't remember how to function properly. "Angelus... And Buffy..." Willow began to hyperventilate. Her world was shattering and it seemed to all be pressing on her lungs. Xander managed to stand and hold her up as she gasped for breath. Then the tears came. "Giles... What about... We need to call Giles."

Xander nodded, rubbing his face. "I'll do it." He picked up the phone, but his fingers couldn't process the numbers running through his head.

"Speed dial 4."

"What?"

"Press 4." Willow sat on the edge of the bed and watched Xander through blurry eyes.

* * *

Angelus enjoyed the scene that was playing out before him. Xander and Willow had made it to the library and the two of them plus Giles sat around the table staring into the wood. Buffy sat in the ground next to him and toyed with her nails. She seemed bored.

"Now, you of all people I thought would enjoy this scene of misery." Angelus quipped.

"Sure, if they were actually doing something instead of just sitting there." Buffy looked up at him. "Why haven't they cried or screamed or done something normal... Like pick up some weapons and come after us?"

Angelus shrugged. "Who knows with these people?"

"They must have followed her lead so much that they're lost without her." Buffy paused at that thought. "Huh. Kind of takes the fun out of it."

"Are you kidding? Once it really hits them, they won't just sit there."

"I wonder when they'll leave. That Watcher has books in there that could help me."

"Could? Will. He's got a collection that rivals the Council's."

Buffy raised an eyebrow. "You've seen the collection?"

"Once. Spike broke in with me to find a spell to get rid of my soul, but he ended up massacring the place and my souled half couldn't take it and he ran."

"Doesn't sound like much fun."

Angelus shrugged again. "I had a soul. Where's the fun in that?"

"Can we go? This is boring and I'm hungry." She stood up. "Isn't there someplace we could go that is less boring and has lots of people to feed on?"

He looked at her, one eyebrow raised in fascination. "Actually, there is one place."

* * *

Buffy gasped in delight. A club in a little town like this. And it was filled to the brim with teenagers and adults alike. "Oh, Angelus! It's perfect." A slow, seductive song floated out on the night air. She turned and wrapped her arms around his waist and pressed against him. "Dance with me."

"Anything for you." He purred, following her into the club. The bouncer started to stop them, but Buffy flashed her vamp face and he recoiled in terror, running off into the night. Angelus chuckled and held onto Buffy's hips as she wound her way to the dance floor. Pulling him in tightly to her, Buffy began to sway her hips against his, laying her head back on his chest. Their hands moved over each other's bodies and after a while, the crowd started to notice the two.

Buffy loved coming to clubs and dancing. There was something primal in it. Angelus had loved it too. It was fun and it was perfect for finding victims. Apparently this Angelus was loving it as well. She was pleased that he was starting to learn to follow her. In time, he would be the Angelus she had loved so much.

The song ended and Buffy turned in Angelus' arms. "We should get something to drink from the bar." She said. "We don't want too much attention drawn to us." Angelus nodded and led her towards the bar.

Unfortunately, their path was blocked by a blonde girl flanked by a dark red haired girl and a brunette girl. "Buffy, I don't know if it's possible, but you're fashion sense got even worse than before."

"I'm sorry, do I know you?" Buffy asked casually.

The blonde girl looked stunned. "Excuse me?"

"She's Harmony." The red haired girl said.

"Chasity, she knows who I am." Harmony said.

"And I really don't care." Buffy said. "Excuse us."

Harmony and the others blocked her way again. "And who exactly do you think you are coming in here and causing a scene like that. Ew. Save it for the bedroom."

"Harmony, is it?" Buffy leaned in. "Get out of my way or I'll remove you from my path."

"Remove me from your path? Who are you, Marie Antoinette?"

"God no! She was such a half wit. But you remind me of her. And you'll share her fate if you don't let me pass." Buffy pushed around Harmony and the others, leaving them standing there bewildered. Buffy looked up at Angelus. "Who the hell were those morons?"

"Popular girls that went to school with the Slayer." Angelus said. "Even the Slayer wanted to kill them."

"Why didn't she?" Angelus gave her a look. "Oh, right. Goody-goody extrodinaire."

He chuckled. "You could kill them."

"Please. Their blood is probably nothing but hair products and cheap makeup." They got their drinks and went to a booth on the edge of the dance floor where they could see the entire club.

Angelus was intrigued by Buffy's eyes as she scanned the place, looking for a victim. He could tell she was an experienced hunter. "1701?" He suddenly asked.

"Excuse me?"

"You were made in 1701?"

"Yes."

"Where?"

"Italy."

"You're Italian?"

"No. I was born in the colonies. My family was on holiday in Italy for a year."

"Wealthy?"

"Very. Darla changed me inside the walls of my gardens."

"What happened to your family?"

"I don't know."

"You didn't kill them?"

"I hated my parents. After Darla changed me, we left Italy. We traveled throughout Europe, eventually landing in Ireland where we separated."

"Any idea where she would be now?"

"No. Like I said, I've heard rumors and whisperings, but I never cared enough to follow through."

"Why did she change you? The Darla I knew was picky with the vampires she made."

"As was the one I knew. She always said she thought I would make a wonderful vampire. I was very manipulative when I was alive. Men flocked to be at my side. I used them to get what I wanted and then I dumped them."

"You were wealthy. Why did you need them?"

"I didn't. But I had to have some way to have fun. Going to parties with all those aristocrats wasn't my idea of fun. I much preferred to have a nice romp in the barn."

"Now those were always good."

Buffy's eyes seemed to spot something and Angelus followed her eyes to a tall boy with dark eyes and spikey hair sitting alone at a table on the other side of the dance floor under the stairs. "Who is that?"

"Well I'll be damned."

"You are. Who is it?"

"That's that boy... Owen. The Slayer had a school girl crush on him about a year or so ago. Drove my souled half crazy with jealousy and she knew it."

"Why didn't she pursue him?"

"Because she almost got him killed."

"Wouldn't have stopped me."

"He seemed to like the rush, too, but the Slayer felt guilty that she would be risking his life."

"Huh. Owen, is it?" She slid from the booth before Angelus could stop her and walked casually over to Owen.

The boy noticed her and smiled. "Buffy."

"Owen. Hi."

"How've you been?"

"Decent. You?"

"Ok. Are you here alone?"

"For now."

"Would you like to join me?"

Buffy smiled, loving that he was taking the bait. "Sure." She slid into the seat next to him.

"Have you read anything interesting lately?"

"Not really."

"I'm reading Emily again."

"Dickinson?" Buffy rolled her eyes. Typical. "She's not my favorite."

"I thought you said she was."

"No. I prefer William Blake."

"Blake? Really?"

"Mm-hmm. He was an interesting man." She leaned into him. "Do you wanna get out of here? This music makes it hard to talk."

"Sure. The Espresso Pump sound good?"

"Whatever." Buffy stood and started for the door. Owen struggled to catch up to her and didn't actually manage to until he made it onto the street.

"Huh, I wonder where the bouncer went."

Buffy laughed. "Probably got scared away by something."

"There's a lot of somethings in this town."

"No kidding." Buffy wrapped her arm into his and started to pull him towards the alleyway.

"We're going in there?"

"Of course! There's a warehouse back here."

"Yeah, the Bronze."  
"No. There's a warehouse right next door that's abandoned."

"Hey, did you get an accent or something? You sound sort of... British?"

Buffy did her best Southern California accent. "No. I've just been hanging with Giles way too much."

"Oh. Are you sure that..."

"I thought you liked the thrill of near death experiances."

"Don't get me wrong, it was quite a rush... But I've gotten out of that, Buffy."

"I promise nothing will happen to you. This place is really neat."

"Are you sure?"

"I've been in here plenty of times." She lied, opening the side door she had seen earlier walking into the Bronze. The place was dank and dingy. The only light came from a streetlight on the corner of the other side of the warehouse.

"Doesn't look so neat."

"Well, when you see it through my eyes." Buffy turned slowly and looked up at Owen. He didn't notice her face at first, but then he let out a yelp and backpeddled. "What? You don't want to see it through my eyes? Biast!" Then she attacked. It was faster than she had anticipated, _Damn Slayer/Vampire thing_, and she barreled her prey over, knocking the wind out of him as they hit the ground. Then she bit in, slowly this time. _Let him swoon a bit_. Then, when he started to relax, she ripped into his throat and enjoyed the taste of his blood rushing into her mouth. Then, Angelus was in the doorway, smiling and watching as Buffy stood up and slid out of vamp face.

"You've got a little..." Angelus motioned to his mouth.

"Then come clean it off." Buffy said enticingly.

"Can't refuse on offer like that." Angelus walked over, grabbed Buffy's waist, and pulled her to him. He kissed the blood off her chin and lips, licking her neck slowly as they sank to the floor.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

"She's really gone?" Willow asked quietly. No answered her. "You don't think she... She wouldn't go to him willingly."

Giles shook his head. "I don't know. The way she's been acting lately..."

"She wouldn't." Xander said. "She was sick. It was messing with her mind. Made it easier for Angelus to... She wouldn't."

"What now?" Willow asked.

"Pray?" Giles said. Willow and Xander looked at him shocked and helpless. "I don't really know what to do in this situation."

"She said we were next." Xander said. Then he paused. "Hold on! She also said she wasn't Buffy."

"Come again?"

"She said her name was Elizabeth. Um... She said she made Angelus and that she was made in 1701."

"Impossible."

"Yeah. Darla made Angelus. Buffy wasn't even alive back then." Willow said.

"You don't think it's a vampire that was made a long time ago and when Angelus turned Buffy, she somehow got resurrected in Buffy?" Xander asked. Giles looked up at him. "Then we could find a way to save Buffy. Bring her back."

"Don't be foolish, Xander. That's impossible. Vampires turn to dust when they die. The demon spirit is destroyed with the body."

Xander looked hurt. "I was just saying. It's what she told me before she let me leave. Really pissed Angelus off that I was allowed to leave."

"What if it could happen?" Willow asked. The men looked at her. "Well, impossible things happen pretty much every day around here. Maybe... Maybe Buffy really did get changed into a vampire from 1701."

"Doesn't explain why she said she was the one that changed Angelus."

"I don't know. Maybe she was taking credit for Buffy changing Angel into Angelus..."

"Unless she's not of this world." Giles said, getting up.

* * *

"Uh oh, the monkies are catching on to you." Angelus said. He was standing at one of the library's windows watching the little group and listening in. Buffy, however, didn't really seem to care about them. She had climbed up onto one of the lower branches of a tree nearby and was lounging there on her back like a cat with her eyes closed. Angelus sighed and walked over, staring up at her. "You really should take some interest in this. They could discover who you are and then kill you."

She didn't even move or open her eyes. "I seriously doubt that."

"You never know. That Watcher has a lot of books and not all of them are from this dimension."

"Angelus, I'm a hell of a lot older than you. I know what I'm doing."

"Apparently not."

This time she opened her eyes and looked at him. "What do you even mean?"

"You're stuck here because your Slayer killed you."

"She's not much of a Slayer. She had to resort to magicks to even compete with Angelus and I. And I was taken over by grief at the loss of your counterpart. It was the only reason she managed to defeat me."

Angelus shrugged. "Suit yourself, but if they find a way to kill you..." He stopped turning to the window.

"What now?" Buffy asked, sitting up and hopping down beside him.

"Kendra. The Watcher said the name Kendra." Angelus went to a different window. Giles was picking up the phone in his office and dialing a long distance number. "He's calling in the other Slayer."

"The other... TWO Slayers? What kind of world do you live in?"

"It's complicated."

"Uncomplicate it."

Angelus looked at her. "Buffy died once at the hands of the Master. She drowned."

"The Master drowned the Slayer?" She snorted. "I never pictured him as the weak type to have to DROWN a Slayer."

"He bit her and when she passed out, he dropped her face first in the water. The boy saved her. He did CPR on her. She was technically dead and that, as you know, calls a new Slayer."

"Well, well, well, this world isn't as boring as I thought."

"You shouldn't have too much trouble with Kendra. She's a by-the-book Slayer. Although..."

Buffy sighed. "What?"  
"Buffy may have rubbed off on her some and Buffy's a hard one to kill."

"Not really. I'm here and she's not. Pretty simple."

Angelus decided not to say anything. He was attracted to this Buffy more than he wanted to admit, but at the same time, he didn't trust her one bit. She seemed like she could turn on him at any moment. But, she owed him. He had changed her back into the vampire she once was. Sure, she could have found some half witted vamp to change her, but that seemed like it would be beneath her. His fangs and his blood were the only thing worthy enough for her. And he knew that, so he had made her agree to helping him kill Buffy's little band of friends before he had changed her. It was strictly a bonus that he could get out of this stupid world and trade up for one where his name still struck fear in the hearts of all things human and demon alike.

He turned to look at her, but she wasn't standing next to him. He looked around for her, but didn't see her. "Buffy?" He called, not caring if the Watcher and the Slayer-wannabes heard him. She appeared above him on the roof with a chord in her hand and a smile on her face. "What's that?"

* * *

"The phone's dead." Giles said.

"What?" Willow asked, walking into the office with Xander.

"I was talking to Mr. Zabuto, Kendra's Watcher, and the line just... died."

Willow looked around, obviously fightened. "Oh, uh..."  
"Think we've got company?" Xander asked.

"I would say yes." Giles said. "Qucikly, get to the weapons cabinet. Grab whatever weapons you can."

"Already gone." Xander took Willow's hand and pulled her to the cabinet.

* * *

"They think we're going to attack." Buffy said, amused.

"We're not?" Angelus asked.

"Of course not. I want to let the fear completely consume them before I kill them. Makes the blood taste so much sweeter."

Angelus looked down at her, smirking. "I'm starting to think your artistry is overpowering mine."

"Please, who do you think taught your counterpart that artistry?" She looked up at him. "Come on. Show me the girl's house."

"Willow?"

"Yes."

Angelus led her away from the school and to the quite neighborhood where Willow and her parent's lived. It wasn't so late at night, so the Rosenburgs were up. Buffy knocked on the door and stood there, smiling sweetly as Mrs. Rosenburg answered the door. "Hi!"

"Hello there, Bunny." The woman said.

"It's Buffy."

"Yes, yes... Are you here to see Willow?"

"She said she would meet me here. I have some homework I need to catch up on."

"Well, you certainly got over that flu quickly."

"I'm a fast healer." Buffy smiled again.

"And who is this?" The woman gestured to Angelus.

"This is my boyfriend, Angel."

"Oh, Willow's never mentioned you before I don't think."

"Well, I'm not dating Willow." Angel said. "She's got Oz."

"She does?"

"Mrs. Rosenburg, may we come in?" Buffy asked. "I just don't feel safe out here."

"Of course! You two come on in. I know Sunnydale is a scary place after dark." She stepped out of the way and Buffy and Angelus walked over the threshold.

"Thanks." Buffy looked at Angelus and then at Mrs. Rosenburg. "Where's Mr. Rosenburg?"

"Oh, he's in the den watching some TV." The woman shut the door. "Can I get you two anything while you're waiting?"

"Oh, I could use a drink."

"What would you like? Tang? Milk? Water?"

"Blood."  
"Excuse me?"

"Blood sounds right up my alley." Buffy vamped and Mrs. Rosenburg screamed. She tried to run, but Buffy caught her easily and held on to her. Mr. Rosenburg came into the room and Angelus snapped his neck. Buffy stroked Mrs. Rosenburg's hair as she cut off the woman's air supply. "Don't worry. You're daughter will be joining you soon." Mrs. Rosenburg shook her head in fear, her eyes bulging. Suddenly, Buffy felt incredibly angry at the woman. She had no clue why, but she felt like this woman had done something bad to her. Something that was unforgivable. Her hand squeezed tighter and the woman's spinal chord snapped in two, killing her instantly. Still, Buffy kept crushing until the woman's head popped off and blood squirted onto Buffy's arm and face. Then, just as suddenly as before, she felt fine and looked down at the dead woman's body and severed head.

"What was that about?" Angelus asked, staring at Buffy.

"I don't know." She rolled her eyes. "God, what a waste of a good set up."

"Are you ok?"

"I felt... angry. Like... like that woman had done something aweful to me."

Angelus stared at her. "You didn't even know her."

"Did Buffy?"

"She knew Willow and Willow was her best friend."  
"Do you think... No."

"What?"

"Buffy's feelings... Her memories... They couldn't be coming back, could they?"

He shrugged. "Hell if I know. What are we going to do with this mess?"

"Put it in their bedroom. Or in a closet. I don't care."

"I said 'we' not 'I'."

"Does it look like I care? Just get these bodies out of my sight. If the girl comes home and sees her dead parents, she's going to know we're here and she's going to run. I need to clean up." Before he could say anything, she turned and headed up the stairs to find a bathroom. After she had scrubbed the blood from her arm and face, she went out to explore the upstairs to find Willow's room. "Uck!" She was suddenly regretful that she had come into the girl's room. It was the room of a seven year old girl. Stuffed animals and frilly things everywhere. "Il mio dio!" She said to herself. "È denominato crescere in su. Imparilo."

"She won't have time after tonight." Angelus said behind her. "We're killing her, aren't we?"

"Of course. Il mio dio!" She said again. "How can she stand to be in this room. I thought she was 17 years old, not seven."

"That's just Willow."

Buffy looked at Angelus. "She won't be home for a while."

"Why do you say that?"

"The little Slayer gang will be holed up at that library all night. We'll come back tomorrow."

"What now?"  
"Take me to the Slayer's house. I want to meet her mother." Buffy flashed Angelus a sinister smile.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N Sorry it's taken so long to get this chapter up. I've been gone for a week and a half to Alabama for my brother's wedding. I tried to post this before I left, but the site was messed up (or maybe it was my internet, I don't know). Anyway, enjoy!

Chapter 6

Joyce sat in her kitchen, crying into her cup of coffee. Her little girl was missing. Her friends were looking for her, but they hadn't had any luck for the last three days. She couldn't get a hold of Buffy's father to let him know. For all she knew, he was in Spain with his secretary or Aspen with his assistant like he usually was. The house had been so quiet since she had returned to find her daughter missing. So, when the knock on the front door sounded through the house, it was unusually loud to Joyce and it startled her.  
She got up slowly and went to the door. When she opened it, she found Angel standing on the other side. A surge of anger swept through her. "What do you want?"  
"I brought something." Angel said innocently.

"She's not here. And if she was, she still wouldn't want to see you."

"Oh, I think differently."

"Well, I don't."

"But I do." Buffy said, walking over from the swing on the side of the porch.

"Oh, Buffy!" Joyce rushed out and hugged her daughter tightly. "Baby, you're freezing. Come inside." She pulled her daughter inside the house.

"Angel..."

"Don't worry, honey. He's not going to bother you. He's leaving." Joyce started to shut the door in Angel's face, but Buffy caught it.

"No. Invite him in."

"What?"

"Invite him in."

"But..."

"Mother." Buffy said forcefully.

"Oh... Uh... Angel come... come in then." Angel stepped over the threshold and Buffy broke away from Joyce and buried herself in Angel's arms. "What's going on, Buffy?" Joyce asked.

"Nothing."

"What happened at the hospital? Why did you run away and punch a nurse?"

"They were trying to keep me there against my will."

"Buffy, you're sick. You need to be... Wait... You don't look sick."

"Because Angel fixed me." Buffy stroked Angel's cheek sensually.

"Buffy, would you stop that?"

"Why? After all, he is my lover."

"Yes, and it's a fact I don't want to think about. Especially after what happened."

"What happened?"

"Oh, Buffy, really. I don't find this funny. Did you run away and stay with Angel?"

"Yes."

"Buffy, he's unstable."

"I know. Isn't it adorable?"

"What is the matter with you? I'm calling Mr. Giles."

"He knows I'm fine." Buffy moved away from Angel and towards Joyce.

Joyce was suddenly afraid of her own daughter. "Buffy..."

"What's the matter... MOM?" She smiled.

"Buffy, you need to stop this. There's something wrong with you."

"There's nothing wrong with me. I'm just fine." Buffy smiled, vamping. "In fact, I'm better than ever."

Joyce screamed and ran away towards the kitchen. Buffy giggled and looked at Angelus. He encouraged her to go after Joyce. "Family blood is the best." He said. Buffy giggled again and went after Joyce. It was a quick kill, but the woman's blood tasted so sweet and warm. Like nothing she'd ever tasted before.

She left the body laying in the back yard and went inside the house. Angelus sat on the kitchen counter, waiting. She walked past him and headed up the stairs. He followed her as she headed into the Slayer's room. It was decorated in earthy tones and had interesting posters around the room. Buffy scanned the pictures and then picked up a stuffed pig, feeling some inkling of emotion for it.

"Mr. Gordo." Angelus said, noticing the confused look on her face. "It was her favorite stuffed animal." Just to be spiteful to the Slayer's memory, Buffy ripped the stuffed animal's head off. "Huh. I kinda liked that thing."

She threw it at him. "Then take it. I have no use for it." Buffy moved over to the closet. She started to rifle through it. "Huh, she's actually got good taste."

"What are you doing?"

"I need clothes."

"Then steal them."

"I prefer to go through here for right now." She pulled out a long leather coat. "Nice." After a minute, she noticed that Angelus was extremely quiet. She turned to look at him and discovered he was staring intently at her. "What?"

"We never finished what we started back at the mansion."

She smiled seductively at him. "Then come finish it."

Angelus walked over, reached down, and grabbed her roughly, hauling her to him tightly. Twining his fingers in her hair, he yanked her head back brutally and started to lick, suck, and bite her neck. She moaned with pleasure and he vamped. He kissed her hard, their tongues dueling, and then pulled away and bit down on her neck. They fell to the bed, knocking the clothes Buffy had tossed there to the floor. Angelus felt something primal go through him at the thought that he was going to be screwing Buffy in her old bedroom after she had just killed her mother. He really didn't care that it wasn't the Buffy of this world.

* * *

Giles walked into his apartment after having dropped off Willow at her place. Xander didn't want to leave Willow alone, so he had decided to stay with Willow. Giles had promised to call and check on them later in the afternoon, but right now he just wanted to lay down and sleep. His world had been turned upside down in the last few nights. He had failed his Slayer.

Picking up a bottle of brandy, he sulked over to the chair in the corner and sat down. The entire place was dark, so anything could be lurking there. He didn't care. At the moment, he prayed for death. Angelus had taken the two women in his life that were most dear to him. Their efforts at the library to discover who this Elizabeth was that Buffy claimed to be had been fruitless. There was no mention of her. Everything he had said that Darla made Angelus. He had put in a couple of calls to some friends of his to do some digging in texts from other realms, but they hadn't replied back yet.

There was a polite knock on his door, but Giles didn't move to answer it. He still didn't move when the knock sounded again, this time a little louder. After the third time, he set down his bottle of brandy and got up, grumbling at the door. Without bothering to look through the little door that served as a large peep-hole, he swung the door open and growled, "What?"

"Is that anyway to greet an old friend?" Angelus asked with a bright smile. Buffy stood at his side, pressed against him provocatively as he held her there tightly, and smiled sinisterly at Giles.

"You're not my friend."

"But I am old." Giles glared at Angelus. "Well, aren't you going to invite us in?"

"What on earth would make you think I would ever invite you in?"

"Because we've got answers to your questions and we don't want to stand out here all night."

"As far as I'm concerned, you can stand out here until the sun comes up."  
"Now that wouldn't be very conducive to us, would it?" Buffy asked. Giles was startled by the sound of her voice. It was a little deeper and it sounded older, wiser even. And Buffy saying conducive in a sentence properly was also a big shock. "Giles, is it? Listen, your Buffy's dead. She died when I took over her body. I didn't fancy being trapped in a sick Slayer's body until it rotted, so I went to the one man I knew would help me out."

"And who might you be exactly?"

"Didn't the boy tell you?" Buffy shook her head, disappointed.

"I told you we should have killed him sooner." Angelus said.

"Well, I thought he would deliver my message. Forgive me for not knowing these friends of yours as well as your Slayer did."

"They're not my friends and she wasn't MY Slayer." He squeezed her tightly, bruising her ribs.

She grunted and pushed away from him, growling slightly. Turning away to look at Giles, she said, "Did the boy give you my message?"

"What message was that?" Giles asked. "That you killed his parents and his girlfriend and left them to rot in his house? Or that you plan to kill each of us one by one?"

Buffy lifted an eyebrow and glanced at him. "Huh, he's got spunk. I think I may like you." Angelus grunted in annoyance and Buffy just shot him a glare. She turned back to Giles. "Well, at least he gave you those messages."

"He also said something about your name being Elizabeth... Not Buffy."

Buffy smiled. "Ah, yes. So he was useful then." She shot Angelus a triumphant glare.

"WAS useful?"

"Yes, was." She acted as if he should know what she meant. "We killed him and that little red haired one... Willow." Buffy said matter-of-factly. "Seriously, what did that boy eat when he was alive? I've never tasted blood filled with so much sugar."

"I told you that you wouldn't like the taste of him." Angelus said. "He ate one too many Twinkies. I would have just snapped his neck and been done with it."

Buffy smiled gently at him. "Yes, well, next time I may take your advice on how to kill your friends." She turned back to look at Giles who had turned a shade of gray. "Oh, don't get squeamish on us now. I'm sure you've seen and heard worse than that."  
"Done worse than that, too."

Buffy looked at Angelus. "Oh, really?" She asked with delight. "Pray tell!"

"He was heavy into the black arts back in the day. Got into some trouble recently because of it. Almost got his Slayer AND his girlfriend killed."

"Oooh. Very intriguing." She looked back at Giles. "I think I may like you a lot." Giles was leaning in the doorway, his head just outside the threshold. She reached out and gently ran her fingers down his jawbone. He flinched and moved away, back inside. She scowled at him. "Now don't be that way. I was just being polite. Showing a little affection after a compliment."

"I don't want your affection." Giles snapped.

"_Ma desiderate le risposte a quelle domande che si bruciano nei vostri occhi. _(But you do want answers to those questions burning in your eyes.)" Buffy said in flawless Italian. Giles head snapped up. "Ah, you know Italiano! _Magnifico!_" She clapped her hands together.

"_Come conoscete l'italiano?_ (How do you know Italian?)"

"I've visited many times. I was changed in Florence. It is my favorite country and I should like to return there one day soon. But I can't do that without your help."

"My help?"

"_Sì._ Your help."

"With what?"

"Well, if you would invite us in, I'd be more than willing to share everything with you, Watcher."

Giles stared at Buffy warily. He didn't trust her or Angelus one bit.

* * *

Buffy and Angelus sat on Giles' living room couch and watched as the man seated himself in a chair in the corner across the room. "No tea?" Angelus asked.

Buffy touched Angelus' thigh. "We don't want to be rude, _amante_ (lover). He invited us into his home, that's enough."

"Yes, and I would much appreciate it if you would get to the point and get out." Giles said.

Angelus growled. "She may be polite, but I'm not. If you're rude to her again, I won't hesitate to rip your throat out."

"Angelus, please." Buffy said, soothingly stroking his thigh. "We're in his home, let him be rude. It'll only make me not like him and kill him sooner. But first we need his help. Then I'll decide his fate." She looked at Giles. "I want to go home. I'm not skilled at magick. In fact, I have had no use for it until recently."

"Where is home?" Giles asked.

"On another plane of existance. One much more fun than this one is. There are Slayers and demons and vampires, obviously, but humans live in fear of the night. Smart on their part. People have a tendency to turn a blind eye in this world, or so I'm told. Not smart."

"And how did you end up here?"

Buffy touched her chest lightly. "Would you like the long version or the short?"

"Entertain me. Give me the long version."

She smirked. "Very well then." She told him everything, including the bargain she'd made with Angelus. She wasn't one to lie. She hated lies. The truth was so much better in so many ways. "And here I am, waiting for you to crack open and book and send me home with my new play thing." She ran her fingers down Angelus' jawbone and grabbed his face, shaking like an older aunt might do to a young kid at a family reunion. Then she kissed him gently. Angelus took her hand and kissed her back, a bit deeper this time.

"How sweet." Giles said sarcastically. Angelus growled, but stayed where he sat. "And why should I help you?"

"Well, Angelus and I have killed everyone you have ever really cared about. There really is no way you could possibly kill us. You're just a human with knowledge of the dark realms. You have no strength to even match a tenth of ours as individuals, let alone together."

"You're right."

"Of course I am. Besides, helping us leave will get us out of your hair forever. I'll allow you to think of it as you are killing us from this world."

"And what of the Slayer... Amerie?"

"She will die like all Slayers do."

"Why should I aid you in that?"

"Because if you don't, I will make your life a living hell. You will never get to know the love of anyone because we will simply kill them. Everyone you meet will die. You will be alone forever, left wondering when Angelus and I will tire of you and be rid of you. Is that any way to live? Wouldn't you much rather move on and find a new life for yourself free of Slayers and vampires?" She saw the look in Giles' eyes. The longing and the fear. "All you have to do is help me get out of this dreadful world and you can have that."

"What of Spike and Drusilla?"

"What about them?" Angelus asked.

"They won't hunt me?"

"I can't guarantee that."

"Then there is no deal."

Buffy sighed. "I will talk to them." She said forcefully. "You just start searching in your books on how to get me home. Angelus and I will return tomorrow night to check on your progress." She knew what he would say before he could even open his mouth. "Spike and Drusilla will leave you in peace. And if you don't have anything for us tomorrow night, well... Let's just leave that sentence hanging, shall we? I think you get the picture." Buffy smiled at him and took Angelus' hand, leading him from the apartment.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Spike looked at Buffy incredulously then looked at Angelus in shock. "Is she daft!?"

Angelus growled and kicked Spike's wheelchair, sending him crashing into the wall next to the fireplace. "No, she is not daft!"

"You be nice to Spike." Drusilla said suddenly, sounding completely sane for a moment. When Angelus' dark gaze turned on her with fury burning in his eyes, she whimpered and moved away towards Spike.

Buffy just leaned against the wall next to the French doors, away from the sunlight streaming in, and watched the exchange coolly. She had ordered Spike and Drusilla to stay away from the Watcher and then promptly threatened to kill them if they didn't agree to it. Angelus wasn't taking it too well, which made Buffy happy. His loyalty to her was growing. He had been ready to rip the head from anyone who so much as sent an insult her way.

"I'm telling you too. Stay away from the Watcher." Angelus growled.

"And just why should we?" Spike asked, always the one to push.

"Because if you don't, I can promise that before you fit into an ashtray, you'll have known more agony than you thought was possible. And I'll make you watch as Buffy and I torture Drusilla." Dru whimpered again and began to cry like a child.

Spike took her hand and stroked her arm. "Don't you worry, pet. I'll never let him hurt you."

"She's gone and changed him, she has." Drusilla said. "I no longer want to play with Daddy." She turned her gaze on Buffy. "Take him away, then. Take him to your hell and let us be. You'll not have my Spike, too."

"What?" Spike asked.

Buffy laughed. "I don't want him, anyway. Even though by the looks of him... I could have him easily."

"What's all this then?"

"Never mind, you dense roller skate. Angelus." He looked over at her. "Take me to bed, my darling. I want to look my best for Amerie when we return home."

Angelus smiled. "Ah, always thinking of others."

"I'm a nice gal."

He kissed her cheek as he took her hand and led her towards his room. Angelus lit a fire as Buffy slid onto the bed and watched him. He stared into the fire and remembered all the years with Darla and how much fun he'd had. Buffy's life with her Angelus seemed so much more exciting all of a sudden. "How did it start?"

"What?" Buffy asked, lifting up on her elbow.

"You and your Angelus. How did it start?"

"I told you."

"Not in detail. How could a creature such as yourself fall for a human?"

"I don't know."

"Tell me the story. In detail."

"It was so long ago."

"I'm sure you remember."

Buffy stared at him for a moment. "Very well."

_Darla and Elizabeth sat in their carriage as it pulled into Galway and Elizabeth tried not to yawn. Ireland seemed like such a boring place compared to Rome and Venice and every other bustling place they'd been to over the last 50 years. It had been Darla's idea to come here._

"_I'm sure it's not as bad as you think it is." Darla said suddenly._

"_The only thing I've seen is dark field after dark field with maybe one or two houses or tiny, tiny villages in between."_

"_Well, Galway is supposed to be nice I hear."_

"_From who?"_

"_Elizabeth, stop sulking. You'll find some Irish nobleman…. or three…. That you'll ravage and you're mood will lift."_

_Elizabeth snorted and looked back out the window. __Three days later, they sat in a tavern watching a drunken nobleman cause a scene. Darla watched him with fascination as Elizabeth tried to find something better to do._

"_He's magnificent. I'm going to change him." Darla said. She noticed Elizabeth's attention was on her nails instead of the man Darla was becoming fast obsessed with. "What now?"_

"_It's been three days and I've yet to find something interesting to do."_

"_Would you stop complaining? We'll go back to Italy eventually." Elizabeth sighed. "Go. Find someone to eat and I'll meet you back at the house."_

_A week later, Elizabeth was still stuck in Galway and she was still bored. Darla was out stalking her human, Liam, and Elizabeth was walking the streets watching the people scurry home. After a minute, she sat down on a bench and lounged there, closing her eyes._

"_You know, that's a very dangerous thing you're doing there." A voice said above her._

_Elizabeth opened her eyes and saw Liam standing in front of her. "Oh, I believe I'm fine. No one dares to touch me."_

"_No one? Really?"_

"_Shouldn't you be somewhere else?"_

"_I'm right where I want to be."_

_Elizabeth lifted an eyebrow. "Scamper on, little one. I want nothing to do with you."_

"_And if I don't?" Liam boldly sat down next to her on the bench and smiled._

"_You're drunk."_

"_Not quite. I'm on my way to getting there. Would you like to join me?"_

"_Do you always walk up to strange women sitting on benches and ask them to drink with you?"_

"_I'm making an exception for you, darlin'."_

_Despite herself, Elizabeth chuckled. "Well, at least you acknowledge that I'm an exception."_

"_Well, you're the only woman I know brave enough to sit on a bench in the dark in a strange place and close her eyes. They're all sorts of things that could get you."_

"_Don't worry about those things getting me."_

"_Well, I'm going to worry about those things getting you until you agree to come with me and have a drink."_

_Elizabeth considered the offer, but this was Darla's human. Although, he was the first person to catch her attention in all the time they'd been here. "I think I shall pass on your offer, but I thank you."_

_Liam placed his hand over his heart. "You're breaking my heart."_

_She laughed. "I could break so much more, but I'm choosing to let you be."_

"_I wish you wouldn't." He ran his fingers up and down her arm and over her shoulder blade, causing shivers in her spine._

_Elizabeth shook her head. "You don't belong to me."_

"_I don't belong to anyone else but you. Come with me."_

"_Where?"_

"_It's a surprise."_

"_I'm not prone to liking surprises." His fingers ran over her neck and jaw line near her ear and she closed her eyes._

"_Please? Before you completely break my heart."_

"_Tomorrow night. I'll meet you in your gardens."_

"_How do you know about my gardens?"_

_She smiled seductively. "Don't worry about that." He sighed heavily as she ran her fingers gently down his face, playing with his lips for a moment. When he opened his eyes, she was gone._

_The next night, Liam wandered his vast estate's gardens, waiting for Elizabeth. Darla had complained that Liam had disappeared the night before and she wanted Elizabeth to help her find him tonight. Elizabeth had declined and left Darla sulking in their house. She made sure she wasn't followed and headed to Liam's estate. She found him sleeping on a beautiful stone bench._

"_You know, that's a very dangerous thing you're doing there." Elizabeth quoted. Liam was startled awake and she laughed at him._

"_Madame, you do no good in frightening me like that." He said crossly, standing up to tower over her. She knew the threat was hollow and walked away from him. He followed like an obedient dog. "Forgive me, I did not mean it."_

"_All is forgotten."_

"_What did you mean last night when you said I don't belong to you?"_

"_My companion has her eye on you. She wants you as her own."_

"_But what if I don't want her?"_

"_I dare not answer that." She knew what Darla would do when she found out Elizabeth's deception._

"_Is she your companion, or your mother?"_

"_Just my companion."_

"_Shouldn't you have a chaperone?"_

"_I don't need one." She glanced at him. "It's a welcome relief to see your eyes are not glazed over with drunkenness."_

"_Does it offend you?"_

"_Not in the least bit. It loosens the tongue and makes truths fly from men's mouths."_

"_It can be a dangerous thing for women."_

"_Not me."_

"_Why?"_

"_Nothing scares me."_

"_Surely something must scare you."_

"_Nothing." Liam grabbed her roughly and pulled her to him. Still, she remained placid. "See? Nothing." He tentatively leaned down and kissed her. She allowed it and before she knew it, she was pinned up against the garden wall, panting with desire for him. "I am no whore, sir."_

"_And I would never think you one." He grasped her hand. "Come." Elizabeth allowed him to sneak her up to his room and they fell to the bed a tangle of burning limbs._

_Elizabeth woke before the sun and started to slip out. "You would not leave me." Liam said drowsily._

"_I have to." Elizabeth smiled at him. "I shall return to you tonight."_

"_I don't even know your name."_

"_Elizabeth."_

_He repeated her name as he fell back into sleep._

"And that began a year of secrets and passion." Buffy said.

"And Darla?" Angelus asked.

"Not a clue for a whole year."

"How did you manage that?"

"It was difficult, but I was a skilled liar. More skilled than Darla."

"And the night she discovered you?"

"_You will not see her again!" Liam's father yelled._

"_You know nothing of her!" Liam yelled back. He and Elizabeth had been caught in the night and Liam's father was outraged. He had planned to make a nice marriage for his son, but now his prodigal son had ruined it._

"_I know she is a whore and not of noble blood!"_

"_She is not a whore. I could never love a whore."_

"_You know nothing of love! Love does not exist in your world."_

"_It did not until she stepped into it."_

"_She is not fit for marriage to you."_

"_I don't care!" Liam pounded up the stairs and into his room with his father right behind him._

"_What do you think you're doing?"_

"_I'm leaving."_

"_Go then! But do not expect a warm welcome back into this house, for you shall have none! I am ashamed to call you my son. You are not my son! I wash my hands of you from this moment! You're a disgrace! You're a lay-about and a scoundrel and you'll never amount to anything more than that."_

"_If you say so, father." Liam closed his bag and stormed past his father. He paused at the door where his younger sister was crying. "Sweet Kathy. No tears. We'll meet again." _

"_It's a son I wished for, a man! Instead God gave me you! A terrible disappointment." _

"_Disappointment? A more dutiful son you couldn't have asked for. My whole life you've told me in word, in glance, what it is you required of me, and I've lived down to your every expectations, now haven't I?"_

"_That's madness!"_

"_No. The madness is that I couldn't fail enough for you. But we'll fix that now, won't we?"_

"_I fear for you, lad."_

"_And is that the only thing you can find in your heart for me now, father?"_

"_Who'll take you in, huh? You're whore?"_

"_I'll not lack for a place to sleep. She is my love and I am hers. Out of my way."_

"_I was never in your way, boy." Liam opened the door and stormed out. "If you'll go courting trouble, you're sure to find it!"_

_He ignored his father as he stormed off into the night, looking for Elizabeth. He found her, resting peacefully in front of a fire at the house she had told him about. Darla was probably out looking for him as she did most nights. This was the night she was supposed to find him and Elizabeth was to stay in so Darla did not become suspicious. When Liam burst through the door, she jumped to her feet, ready to face an attack._

"_Liam!?"_

_He dropped to his knees in front of her, burying his face in her corseted waist. "Take me into your world."_

"_What?"_

"_I've had enough of this world! I don't want to go another moment in it without you."_

"_Stand up. You're making a fool of yourself."_

"_I'm a fool for you!"_

"_Is this about last night? I'm sure it will pass soon."_

"_No! I'm gone from them." He grasped her hands and looked up into her eyes. "Release me from this dreadful world. Bring me into your night world."_

"_Oh, Liam…. What have I done to you?" She sat down and he buried his head in her lap, breathing in the scent of her._

_Just then, the door burst open and Darla came strolling in. "Tonight's the night! He's had a fight with his father and…." She stopped short as she saw Liam with his face buried in Elizabeth's lap. "What is this?"_

"_Darla." Elizabeth started._

"_You dare to say my name!"_

_Liam stood up defiantly. "I decline your offer." He said shakily. "Whatever it may be."_

_Darla ignored him. "You unimaginative bitch!"_

"_I never meant for this to happen." Elizabeth said._

"_Shut up! You're a fool! I should have seen it from the beginning. You're nothing but a whore! You knew I wanted him for my own! You knew he was mine!"_

"_He came to me willingly. I am sorry that you're not the woman he wants."_

"_Woman!? You have the nerve to call yourself a woman?"_

"_And you do?"_

_Darla screeched and grabbed a chair, breaking it into pieces. She picked one sharp, thick stick and flew at Elizabeth. Liam charged in front of her and took the stake in his right shoulder. Elizabeth caught him before he hit the ground and glared at Darla._

"_You two deserve each other. You could've had the world. We could have taken everything from the humans, but you're throwing it all away on him! You're love for this human is disgusting. It's a scent which will follow you and mark you as an outcast for all the days of your immortal life!" Elizabeth watched as Darla turned and stormed out of the door._

_Liam groaned and Elizabeth led him over to a chair. "I'm not worth all this trouble." She said to him._

"_Aye, you are to me." Liam clutched at the bleeding wound and tried to smile up at her, but it just turned to a grimace._

_She just sighed and went about cleaning and bandaging the wound. She couldn't believe that she would go to all this trouble for a human. In her 50 plus years of living, this was the last thing she had ever expected to be doing. She should've just let him be that night, but something in her couldn't allow it to happen. Through the months, she found she couldn't bring herself to walk away from him. She told herself it had been a victory over Darla in their never ending rivalry, but deep down, she knew it was more than that._

_Elizabeth led Liam to the bedroom and laid him in the bed. "Rest."_

_He grabbed her hand and pulled, bringing her to him. "I don't need rest." She could have pulled away easily, but she just couldn't bring herself to. Liam brought her lips to his and sealed his fate._

"Is that enough for you?" Buffy asked, watching Angelus lounge on the bed. They had switched places and now she was standing in front of the dying fire.

"Keep going." Angelus demanded. "This is entertaining."

She flared at him. "Entertaining!? I find this in no way entertaining." He saw the tear course down her cheek and was up instantly, holding her to him. "You don't know what I've lost…. What that bitch took from me."

Angelus smiled and ran his palm down her stomach and into her pants. As he stroked her and felt her melt into his touch, he said, "I'm beginning to understand." She sighed and took a step towards him, causing him to take a step back towards the bed.


	8. Chapter 8

A/N I'm so very sorry I haven't updated in forever. wouldn't let me for some reason! At first I couldn't even log in then it wouldn't let me upload my chapters. It was very frustrating!

Anyway, My site has had some MAJOR revamps. I've created all new pictures for a couple of stories (All wallpapers for your pleasure, just make sure to let people know where you got them from), the site's got a new look... Well, you'll see when you get there. It's got a new Guestbook, so please, please, please leave comments and let me know what you think.

And, I've been working on a new story that's a lot like My Own Version of the Buffyverse. It involves Connor bringing Buffy and Angel together and not even meaning to. (It's probably been done a hundred times!) It involves two major character deaths, so there's plenty of heartbreak! Let me know if you'd like to read it. I think it's coming along pretty well.

OK! On to the story...

* * *

Chapter 8 

While Angelus slept, Buffy crept out of the mansion and disappeared into the sewers. She headed for the Watcher's house with an agenda in her head. The shadows of the apartment complex were dark enough for her to stand in while she pounded on the door, but she could still feel the lethal heat of the sun on her back.

Giles opened the door and started at the sight of her. "Buffy?"

"Don't get your hopes up. She's still dead and I'm still here. It wasn't a nightmare." Buffy pushed past him, into the house and turned to stare at him. "I can't stand it any longer."

He shut the door and looked at her. "What's that?"

"This Angelus!" She saw the flicker of hope and amusement go across his face. "He's so…. Weak! He's nothing like my Angelus. I thought I could change him, make him more like mine, but…."

"You don't have the patience?"

Buffy stared at him incredulously. "I have nothing but patience. I'm almost 400 years old. There's no one more patient than I!"

"Then what's the problem."

"He'll never be the Angelus I love. I look at him now and know that he will never be my Angelus. He's unconsciously fighting everything I say and do. He cannot be changed into the proper vampire. Patience has nothing to do with it. I will not try with him if I know I cannot succeed."

"And why did you come to me?"

"Isn't there a spell to call the real Angelus…. My Angelus…. And put him in that weakling's body?"

"I suppose there is."

She waited for him to move to his books. "What are you waiting for?"

"My collection is at the library."

"Then go get it."

"It's under investigation."

"Then I'll go get the books!"

"You don't understand. I've spent the morning talking with authorities."

She laughed. "You're going to have us arrested?"

"No. They've discovered Buffy's friends and her mother…. You remember? The people you murdered."

"And?"

"And the real Buffy is missing. So, naturally they assume she has something to do with it with her history with the law."

"They're looking for me?"

"They're looking for Buffy, what they'll find is you."

"And I'll kill them."

"That's a rather lot of people to kill. Do you think you could do it?"

"Watcher, I've taken on a regiment of the French army and I still stand. These humans are nothing to me." She waved it off and sat down gracefully on the chair in the corner. "You'll need to get the books and we cannot let Angelus know."

"I would think you would be grateful to have Angelus back."

"He's not Angelus!" She snapped then sighed. "Forgive me." Giles looked taken aback that she had apologized. Buffy smiled. "I am not above manners."

"It's a rarity."

"I'm a rarity. As is MY Angelus. I need him back. I've known only him for 247 years and I can't abide this cheap version of him."

"I can't look for both spells."

"I'll help." She sighed at his shocked face. "Watcher, if it gets me home with my Angelus at my side, I would do anything you bid me to."

"Would you kill Spike and Drusilla?"

"Of course. Sit-and-spin is in love with me…. Or rather he's in love with the Slayer and I can't stand Drusilla's constant raving. I couldn't bear it before and I still can't bear it to this day."

"And what about this Angelus? Won't he be angry that you've turned on him?"

"I don't care what he thinks. I'm stronger than he is. I can take care if him." She stood up. "I shall return tonight, just as I said before, but I do not expect you to find anything. I do, however, expect you to have those books. As soon I lull Angel to sleep, I'll slip out and join your search efforts."

"Thank you."

"I do not do this for you. I do this for my benefit." She opened the door without another word and disappeared.

* * *

Spike rolled out of a dark corner when Buffy returned to the mansion. "Well, well, well, what have we got here?" 

"I've no time for you right now." Buffy tossed at him.

"Where've you been this morning?"

"Hunting."

"You don't smell like it."

"Keep your nose to yourself."

"If you're turning on him, I'd love to help you out." Buffy cocked an eyebrow at him. "Please, I've been waiting for a chance like this. Someone needs to knock the ponce down a peg or 200."

"You don't like him?"

"No. I hate him. He comes strutting in and takes my girl away and plans some big well-to-do to destroy the world."

"Destroy the world, how?"

"He's heard Acathla's tomb is headed for Sunnydale."

"Acathla?"

"Big demon, cursed by a knight, take the sword out…."

"The world gets sucked into hell. Yes, yes. I know all of that." She sat gracefully down on the edge of the fireplace. "Why would he want to do that?"

Spike stood up and walked over to her. She didn't look shocked at all that he could walk. "Because the girl's body you took over was getting under his skin."

"Yes, I've figured that much out. He's in love with her. His hatred for the Slayer turned to love because he couldn't kill her."

"And to get rid of everything having to do with the Slayer…."

"He would send the world to hell to be rid of these feelings? Why not just kill her?"

"Because he couldn't kill her, like you said."

"There are many ways to kill a Slayer."

"You don't have to tell me, love. I've done in two of 'em."

"I lost count." She stood up and began to pace. "It would be foolish to awaken Acathla. How would vampires feed? We need the humans to live."

"Bunch of Happy Meals with legs just waiting to be picked off the value menu, the lot of 'em."

"How do I know I can trust you?"

"I'm honorable when I choose to be." Buffy stopped and looked at Spike. "Oh, I'm choosing to be for this one."

"You will help me then?"

"Depends on what you need help with."

Before Buffy could answer, she heard Angelus stirring in the bedroom. "Tomorrow morning, come with me and I'll explain it to you on the way. Get in your chair."

Spike sat down just as Angelus walked out of the bedroom shirtless. "What's going on?"

"I was hungry and slipped out for a snack." Buffy said seductively.

"What are you doing here?"

Spike smiled and looked up at him. "Just rolling through. Nothing better to do."

"Was he bothering you?"

"No. I was ignoring him."

"So, do you think the Watcher found anything?" Angelus asked, placing his hand on the small of her back and leading her back to the bedroom.

"I don't think he will."

"Good, then we get to kill him."

"No. We let him live. The school is being overrun with police investigating the murders of the Slayer's friends and mother. He probably has books he needs to get in there and can't. Curse us for not concealing the bodies better."

"How do you know about the investigation?"

"I was near the school."

"You went that far for a morning snack?"

"I drifted that far, yes. I don't know your sewers that well. I was lucky I didn't end up somewhere out of town."

He flopped down on the bed. "So, another day lost and all the friends except the Watcher are dead. What do you plan to do now?"

"Well, you could always take me sight seeing. I'm sure this place has all kinds of things for me to see. There's an evil energy here."

"It's called the Hellmouth. The library of the school sits directly over it."

"No wonder that's where the Watcher and her friends convened."

"Giles is the librarian. They didn't know until a year ago when the Master tried to open it up."

Buffy chuckled. "And how did he die?"

"The Master?" She nodded. "She threw him through the skylight and he landed on a big piece of the shattered table. His minions almost brought him back, but she smashed his bones to stop anyone from ever bringing him back. Almost got her friends killed in the process."

"A sad death for a great vampire."

"He had it coming if he thought he could take her out that fast."

"Please don't remind me of your love for her. It disgusts me." Angelus growled, but she waved him away. "I'm bored. Take me somewhere."

"It's daylight out."

"So? Your sewers are immense."

Angelus glared at her for a minute until she got up and walked out on him. He sighed and followed her out to the sewer entrance.

* * *

Finally, Buffy managed to ditch Angelus and meet with Spike. "What happened with the Watcher?" Spike asked as they walked through the sewers. 

"I let Angelus yell and threaten, but then I walked out." Buffy said.

"Without him?"

"Of course not! He would've killed the Watcher. Unfortunately I owe Angelus a whole day in bed."

"Obviously not today." She shook her head. "So, what am I helping you with? And where are we going?"

"We're going back to the Watcher's house to help him."

Spike stopped dead. "Help him!?"

"He's got too many books to look through to find the two spells I need."

"Two spells? I thought you needed just the one?"

"I'm bringing Angelus back."

"But…."

"Not him, you imprudent half-wit. My Angelus. The true Angelus."

"Why?"

"Because the one here will never be who I want him to be. He doesn't listen."

"I could've told you that."

"So, I've asked the Watcher to find a way to bring my Angelus back and put him in this Angelus' body."

"Is that wise?"

"I can't stand this Angelus. He's weak! He has no vision."

"I'd say destroying the world is having vision."

"A stupid vision. I'm like you. I rather like the world. Maybe not this one, but the one I live in. If he awakens Acathla, EVERYTHING will be sucked into hell. Not just this world. I know hell. It's not a place anyone wants to be, not even the Devil himself."

"So, we sit around all day and read. That's your brilliant plan?"

"If it gets me home with the right Angelus, then yes."

"All right, then. Just wanted to be clear."

"You're so odd!"

"I get that a lot." Spike lit up a cigarette. "So, what's your bloke like?"

"Magnificent. A true artist. He makes this Angelus look like melted gelato."

"Gelato?"

"I happen to love it, but at least you get my point."

"Yes. Despite you're weird metaphor, I get what you're trying to say. I used to feel the same way about Drusilla. When she's around him, I've got no chance with her. She melts for him…. Turns into a simpering doll. When she's with me without him, she's a beautiful monster. Her kills are perfect and she loves me wholly. Comes to me for everything."

"That's jealousy you're describing."

"Maybe so, but you get what I'm trying to say?"

Buffy looked up at him. "Yes, I understand. You love your Drusilla as I love my Angelus."

"Exactly." She stopped and smiled. "Flirting with me, now, eh?"

"No. We're here." She pointed up to where a sewer grate waited for them to open it.

Spike stubbed out his cigarette and helped Buffy up and out. They dashed into the shadows and Buffy opened the door to Giles' apartment. The Watched stared at her for a moment, and then to the door where Spike stood.

"What is he doing here?" Giles asked.

"He's here to help. Invite him in." Buffy ordered.

"I will do no such thing. You promised….."

"Later. We need all the help we can get."

"I can read four languages." Spike said helpfully, quite smug with himself.

Giles looked at Buffy and she stepped closer and said quietly, "Please. We need his help whether you want it or not."

He sighed. "Very well. Come in, Spike."

Spike smiled and stepped over the threshold. "Right nice place you got here, Watcher. Maybe I'll take it for myself once the Slayer gets rid of you."

Buffy wheeled on him. "Do not call me that again!"

"Sorry. Forgot." He lit up another cigarette. "Elizabeth. Once Elizabeth gets rid of you."

She rolled her eyes and looked at Giles. "Give him a book and shut him up."


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Angelus woke up to an empty mansion. He had no clue where everyone was. Calling names didn't help him either. All he received in reply was an echo of his own voice. He expected Spike and Drusilla to have gone out, but Buffy he'd expected to be curled up at his side. Angelus grabbed his leather coat and followed Buffy's scent.

* * *

Buffy and Spike's heads flew up and Spike dove up the stairs as Buffy went back to reading her book. Giles looked utterly confused until the door banged open and Angelus strolled in.

"What are you doing?" He demanded of Buffy.

She didn't even glance up. "Helping."

"Helping? Helping the Watcher?"

"Yes. I want to go home."

"And you couldn't wake me up and tell me."

Buffy sighed and finally looked up. "Love, you were asleep and I've never liked to wake you when you look so peaceful." She looked back down to her book. "Now if you'll excuse me, I want to find this spell."

"Just the two of you?"

"Who else?"

"Spike." Angelus looked around the apartment.

"Don't be ridiculous."

"I smell him."

"He and Drusilla were on their way out for a snack when I left. I got lost and Spike helped me find the place."

"No, he's here."

"No, he's not."

Angelus glared down at Buffy and Giles suddenly cried, "Here's something."

Buffy shot up and rushed over to Giles. "What?" Angelus sighed and followed, giving up the argument for now.

"Teleportation. With the right ingredients and intentions, you could go where you most desired."

"Well, get the ingredients." Angelus said. "We'll wait here."

"No." Buffy said. "I want to triple check this spell. I have to be certain I'm going to get where I'm going." She stood up straight and looked at Angelus. "The Watcher will make a list and you go get the ingredients."

"Now?"

"The sewers lead everywhere. I'm sure they will take you to that little magic store I saw the other night." There was a slight argument in Italian, but Buffy won and Angelus waited while Giles put together a list for him.

Once he was gone, Spike walked down the stairs with a smile. "I can't wait to be rid of that ponce."

"You and me both." Buffy said, glaring at the door. "My Angelus never would've argued. It makes me glad to know that I changed him and not Darla. I see now what Darla would have done to my poor boy if she had managed to woo him and keep him."

"Well, you won't have to wait much longer." Spike held up the book he'd been reading and quoted, "'To Call a Demon Spirit Forth'" He handed the book to Giles. "You'll probably be able to understand this better than me."

Giles read for a moment and nodded. "I'll have to modify it just a little, but this will work."

"Well?" The two men looked at her. "Do it! Before he comes back."

"I don't have all the components for it." He winced, waiting for Buffy to back hand him or kill him, but she just sighed.

"I'll make up an excuse to get him back to the mansion." She said. "Spike, go on ahead and I'll meet you there."

Spike shrugged and pretended to tip a hat to her. "Ta." And with that, he walked out.

Buffy shook her head and looked back at Giles. "You go and get the things you need for this spell. We'll worry about the other later."

"There's one problem." Giles said.

"What?"

"I have to be in the same room for this to work."

Buffy groaned and walked four steps away from him. She turned and walked back. "I'll send Spike for you tonight while Angelus and I are out hunting. I'll bring him back and tie him up and you can perform the spell while he's restrained. Does that sound reasonable?"

"Yes, very well. It will have to do." Giles paused. "And what of your Angelus? Won't he try to kill me?"

"Only if I ask him to."

"He sounds more like a pet than a lover."

That time, Buffy did back hand him. "Don't talk about him like that! He does what I ask because he trusts me. As I do what he asks of me. It's a love you could never understand. Just get the things and wait here for Spike." Buffy turned and walked out of the door, slamming it so hard, the top hinge broke. She waited for Angelus to return and then led him to the mansion where Spike was rolling into the living room.

"Where've you two been?" He asked.

"On a fool's errand." Angelus said, tossing the bag onto a chair.

"Not a fool's errand. We're closer to going home than we were this morning." Buffy turned to Angelus. "I want to play."

His scowl instantly turned to the dangerous look of a lustful predator. "And what do you want to play with?"

"YOU know."  
He half laughed, half growled as he hauled her to him roughly and led her towards the bedroom.

* * *

Giles followed Spike through the early morning hours towards Crawford St. He still couldn't believe he was helping this vampire Elizabeth. So, he kept telling himself that he was helping this world be rid of four deadly vampires. That is if Buffy kept her promise to kill Spike and Drusilla. Now she was using Spike as her lackey. It seemed the lines were being drawn in crisscross patterns now.

"Don't look so scared." Spike said, taking a drag from his cigarette. "She's not gonna kill you."

"And what about you?" Giles asked.

"As much as I'd like to, she's asked me nicely not to." Spike chuckled to himself. "It's amazing that she can command things and get them done with no questions asked. There's just something about her character like that. Don't you think?"

"No."

"Well, you're doing her bidding and I haven't heard many questions popping out of your mouth against her."

Giles didn't have anything to say to that. He knew Spike was right. There was something dangerously intriguing about this Elizabeth. At the back of his mind he couldn't make up if he was walking to his freedom or to his death.

* * *

Buffy laughed as Angelus tried to break the chains she had used to tie him to the bed. "What is this?" He growled.

"Just having a little fun with you." Buffy said.

"This doesn't feel like fun."

She walked over to the fireplace and stared at the flames. "One day, you'll learn fun again."

"One day you'll be the one in these things and I'll be the one laughing at you."

"I highly doubt that." Buffy started speaking to herself in Italian.

Angelus strained to hear, but his attention moved to the door when it opened and Spike led Giles in. "Oh." Spike said, surprised. "Didn't think you'd be here already."

"He got bored." Buffy said.

"What's going on?" Angelus yanked on the chains, but Buffy had fettered him up so he couldn't get out.

As Giles started setting up without a word, Buffy sat down on the bed next to Angelus and petted his bare chest, raking her nails slightly. "I cannot tolerate you anymore. You will never be who I want you to be."

"What?"  
"You'll never be him. So, this is farewell to you."

"What are you doing!?" He yanked harder on the chains, but Buffy backhanded him so hard, it knocked him unconscious.

Spike chuckled. "He was never the submissive type."

Buffy smiled dreamily. "I know." She looked over at Giles. "Are you ready yet?"

"Almost." Giles said.

"Will this work?"

"It should."

"How will you know it's not this Angelus trying to trick you?" Spike asked.

"Because, I know my Angelus. He'll prove to me in an instant that it's him." Buffy sighed. "He's not going to like his hair too much." She patted the spikey, gelled hair on Angelus' head. "His was longer than this…. More sophisticated."

"He had long hair?"

"No! His hair was longer, but not at all long and he always had it brushed back and lightly gelled so it would stay that way all night. It was very sexy on him."

"And what was your hair like?" Spike picked up a lock of Buffy's short hair.

Buffy pulled away from Spike, but looked up at him. "It was long, about half-way down my back, and lightly curly. Always done to perfection. If there was one thing I learned from Darla, it was always to look your best because no one human or demon alike would revere you or take you seriously."

Spike nodded and glanced at Giles before looking back at Buffy. "So, I don't feel like getting back handed, but I've gotta know."

"What?"

"Is he a puppy or an equal?"

"He is very much my equal." She looked at him and understood what he was asking. "I was trying to break him and mold him."

"And your patience just left you?"

"With him, yes. He's lived too long. When I broke my Angelus, he was still a fledgling. He was eager to learn everything. As the years went by, he taught me things as well. When he was taken from me by that bitch, Amerie, we were very much one vampire."

Spike lit up another cigarette. "Isn't love a funny thing? It never hits you when you're alive and have a soul, but you find your soul mate after you're dead and don't have one."

"Love is beautiful." She stood up. "You're making me sound like a sap."

"Sorry."

Buffy looked over at Giles. "Are you ready yet?"

Giles looked at her, holding a dagger and a book. "You need to carve this in his chest."

She took the book and looked at the strange heart-shaped pentagram. "Pretty." Taking the dagger, she headed over to Angelus and carved the symbol in his chest. The blood running out of the wounds made her hungry and her eyes glazed over for a moment. Giles walked over with a lit black candle and began to chant. Buffy stood up and moved away from the bed. The flames on the candles strategically placed around the room flared suddenly and made Spike jump. Buffy ignored them and stood in the corner next to the fireplace, watching Angelus intently. She was surprised he hadn't woken up yet. When Giles finished chanting, he poured the black wax over the symbol on Angelus' chest and the wax sunk into the symbol and it all disappeared as if it had never been carved there.

Giles shut the book and blew out the candle. "It's done."

"Did it work?" Spike asked.

"I don't know. He's still unconscious."

"Wake him up, then."

Buffy shook her head. "Let him rest. I don't want to take any chances of this not working. Watcher, go back to your caza and finish working on the spell to take us home. Spike, you will escort him safely there."

"But…." Spike started

"Go!"

He grumbled and pushed Giles towards the door. Buffy locked it behind them, turned off the lights, and sat in the chair facing the bed. The candlelight flickered around the room and cast everything in an old-world glow. As she sat there and stared, she remembered the night Angelus had woken up after his first night as a vampire.

_Liam opened his eyes and looked at the beautiful woman walking around the room lighting candles. It was his Elizabeth in a beautiful, flowing white dressing gown. Her hair was long and loose over her shoulders and down her back in a waterfall of golden waves. He had woken the night before into a new world and she had been waiting for him at the graveyard. She had watched him take his first kill and then taken him back to the house where she had changed him._

_Instead of taking him out and teaching him cleaner ways to kill his prey, she had cleaned him up and taught him the pleasures of the flesh. With his new senses, he could feel everything more acutely and the feelings that washed through him were like liquid fire and the coldest ice. She told him that drinking could feel just as sensual if it was done right and she had promised to teach him._

_Liam smiled and sat up. Elizabeth looked over at him and smiled. "You're awake."_

"_Aye." He watched her for a moment and then held out a beckoning hand to her. "Come here."_

_She smiled and walked over to the bed, taking his hand. He pulled her down on his lap and held her there tightly, breathing in her scent. "Tonight, we shall go out on the town. You can do anything, have anyone in the village. Who will it be?"_

"_Any one?" Elizabeth nodded. "I thought I'd take the village."_

"_The village?"_

"_Yes, my Bethy. The village."_

_Elizabeth looked at him. "Buffy?"_

"_Bethy."_

"_When you say it, it sounds like Buffy." She paused for a moment. "It's…. Not exactly a fear-striking name."_

"_We'll make it one."_

"_And you, my Liam, what will you rename yourself?"_

"_We'll figure that out later." He turned her so she straddled his lap and buried his face in her breasts that the corset pushed up. She sighed as he licked and bit at the straining flesh._

_Buffy watched from the window as Liam walked in and watched his father nail a cross above his window. "You're no different from the rest of them, are you, father?" Liam asked. His father spun around and stared at him. It had been three days since Liam had returned from the dead and they had terrorized the village. "Cowering in their houses…. boarding up the windows…. smearing that foul herb in the doorways. You'd think something evil…. and vile…. and monstrous had taken to terrorizing this village and everyone in it."_

_Buffy chuckled as Liam's father said, "Be gone, unclean thing! A demon cannot enter a home where it's not welcome. He must be invited!"_

"_That's true. But I was invited." Liam glanced to the doorway where little Kathy was slumped against the wall. "She thought I returned to her an angel."_

_Liam's father spun around and charged Liam with the hammer in his hand. "Murderer!"_

_Liam easily pushed the attack aside, making his father fall to the ground. "Strange. Somehow you seemed taller when I was alive."_

_Liam's father flattened himself up against the wall. "Lord, bind this demon now."_

"_To think I ever let such a tiny, trembling thing make me feel the way you did."_

"_I pray ye, give me your protection, Father."_

"_You told me I wasn't a man. You told me I was nothing and I believed you. You said I'd never amount to anything. You called my Elizabeth… My Buffy a whore. You said she would court me into hell. Well, you were wrong." Liam morphed into vamp face. "You see, father? I have made something out of myself after all and my Buffy will make me a god." Liam put a hand over his father's face and bit into him. They slowly slid down the wall and out of the sight of the window._

_Buffy walked slowly over to the door way and looked in at the carnage. Liam sat down and lounged on a chair at the table. She smiled and walked towards him. "This contest is ended then, is it?"_

"_Now I've won." Liam said._

"_You're sure?"_

_Liam put his feet down from the tabletop and picked up a mug of ale. "Of course. I proved who had the power here."_

"_You think?"_

"_What?"_

"_Darling, you're victory over him took but moments."_

_Liam looked over at the body of his father and got up, enfolding Buffy in his arms. "Yes?"_

"_But his defeat of you will last life times."_

"_What are you talking about? He can't defeat me now."_

"_Nor can he ever approve of you in this world or any other. What we once were informs all that we have become. The same love will infect our hearts even if they no longer beat. Simple death won't change that."_

"_Love? Is this the work of love?"_

_Buffy moved closer and laid her cheek against his chest, smiling up at him. "My darling Angelus. So young. Still so very young."_

"_Angelus?"_

"_Your sister called you an angel. You have quite the angelic face. I shall call you Angelus, the one with the angelic face."_

_Angelus laughed and picked her up, kissing her deeply._

Buffy smiled as she watched Angelus sleep. He would wake soon and she wanted everything to be perfect.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Buffy went about the room lighting candles in her long, flowing white robe. There was a fire in the fireplace and the entire room glowed like it had that second night of Angelus' vampiric life. He was still unconscious, but he would soon be coming out of it; she could feel it, so she had untied him. Buffy looked down at herself and wished she'd had a mirror to look into.

"You've always been beautiful to me, Bethy." Angelus said sensually behind her from the bed.

Buffy turned. "Angelus."

"Where am I?"

"What do you remember?"

He looked confused. "I…. Amerie…. She used black magick against me. There was purple smoke and darkness…. I…." He looked down at his chest. "I'm not dust?"

Tears sprang to Buffy's eyes as she realized it truly was her Angelus. "Oh, you were, my love! She killed you in front of me!"

Angelus looked up at her. "Where are we?"

"She killed you and left me to grieve over your ashes. I went after her to avenge your death, but she used a different spell." He stood and took her tenderly in his arms. "She killed me too, or I thought she had, but she sent me here!"

He led her back to the bed. "Where's here, _mi amour_?"

"I thought I had died, but I awoke in a human's body. And not just any human's body, my own…. My own body as a Slayer." Angelus' brow furrowed. "She was sick and I ended up in the hospital. Fortunately there was an Angelus here…. Blithering dolt….. And he loved this Slayer. I convinced him to turn me back. I thought I could make him you, but…. He was trained by Darla. He was too far into his own world. The Slayer's Watcher found a spell to bring you back to me."

Angelus stood up and paced for a minute, putting it all together. He felt her need for him like a stab in his chest and went to enfold her in his arms again. "We're in another world?"

"Yes. A horrible world. But we'll be going home soon."

"How?"

"I have the Watcher looking into it."

"The Watcher? You're in league with the Watcher here?"

"I had no other choice."

He nodded. "And Amerie?"

"Her fate still hangs in the unknown. But she will pay."

"Yes. She will." Angelus looked down at Buffy's beautiful face stained with tears. "Oh, my beloved! Everything will be as it was. I promise you. No more tears. They're weakness. Don't show them to anyone."

"I can't help it. You're here!" She held him tightly. "I'm sorry about your hair."

"What about it?" Angelus reached up and patted at his hair with a cringe.

"It will grow to the proper style as will mine."

Angelus looked down at her hair and fingered it before he began to laugh at her. "Oh, Bethy!"

"It is horrid, I know, but it will grow. You'll have your golden waterfall back."

"A Slayer, you said?"

"Yes. I was a Slayer in this world."

Angelus laughed. "Did you slay any bad demons like a good little Slayer?"

Buffy shoved him away. "Don't tease me now! This is horrendous!"

He continued to laugh. "Forgive me, but the circumstances tend to be a little overwhelming even for me. I can't help but to laugh." Buffy stared into the fire, her back turned to him. "Buffy?" She didn't turn. "Bethy?" He could see the smile creeping into her cheeks. "Elizabeth?" He stood and she turned away to hide her face. "My love? _Mi amour_. _Il mio goddess scuro della notte_. (My dark goddess of the night.)" He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her back to his bare chest.

"You were gone and I was so lost."

"But I'm here now, love. No one will harm you."

"It made me so angry, though."

"Why?"

"Because I never realized how dependent I was on you. I used to be my own vampire until you walked into my life."

"What are you saying?"

"Nothing bad. I only meant I…. love you." In all their years together, neither of them had said this. Even when they were just Elizabeth and Liam, they had never uttered those words to each other. 'I love you.' It was so…. Human.

Angelus stared at her for a long moment. "You…. Love…. Me?"

"Yes! It's such a human emotion, I know, but it doesn't stop me from feeling it."

He smiled. "I love you, too. I always have."

"Why have you never said anything before?"

"Because I always thought you didn't feel it for me."

"What did you think I felt? I've loved you since that first night on the bench in Galway! I gave up my sire for you that night! I didn't even know you and I betrayed her for you!"

"Calm yourself, Bethy. You don't need to explain a thing to me. I understand." He kissed her gently. "You're the brightest moon in my darkest night. You always have been." Buffy reached up and pulled his lips to hers in a fiery kiss.

Just at the moment the door sprang open and Spike strolled in. He was suddenly slammed against the wall by Angelus holding his throat tightly. "Who the hell are you!?"

Buffy didn't make a move to stop him or pull him away. "That's Spike. He's helping me." Angelus looked at her. "Let him go." After a moment, Angelus backed off and slipped back to Buffy's side.

"I was gonna ask if it worked, but I can see it did." Spike rubbed his neck.

"Spike? What kind of a name is Spike?" Angelus asked.

"Actually, it's William the Bloody, but I prefer Spike because I used to drive railroad spikes through my victims." He straightened his coat.

"Where's Drusilla?" Buffy asked.

"She went out."

"Does she know?"

"Not yet, but she'll probably come back saying the stars or the moon whispered it in her noggin."

"Drusilla?" Angelus asked.

"Yes, you remember her, don't you?" Buffy asked.

"I remember a lot of people. Forgive me for not picking out her name right away."

Buffy smiled at his cruel sarcasm. "The crazy nun with the visions. I left you for Russia because of her?"

He smiled. "So, I got to change her in this world, did I?"

"Yeah, and she made me." Spike said. "So, keep your mitts off her."

Angelus rolled his eyes. "You can keep her. I lost my taste for her when Russia called me to her." He turned away from Spike and looked down at Buffy. "When do we leave this place?"

"Soon, I hope. Amerie will suffer for the hell she's put me through. Unfortunately, it's daylight out, so we have some time to kill."

He smiled and closed his eyes as she secretly clawed at his back. "Ah, I could think of a thousand ways to kill time."

"And I can think of only one thing that will make it worth our while. Leave us."

Spike rolled his eyes. "Look, I've got time to kill as well. Might as well get acquainted."

Angelus growled. "I don't want to get acquainted to you, boy."

"Spike, I made a deal with the Watcher that I would kill you and you're crazy nun in exchange for my Angelus. Don't make me keep my word."

"You did what?! I trusted you."

"I never asked you to trust me. I asked you to help me and you did and that's the only thing keeping you from blowing in the wind. Now, leave us."

Spike stood there growling for a moment and it caused Angelus to step forward menacingly. "I'm going." Spike huffed and turned on his heel, slamming the door behind him.

Angelus turned back to Buffy. "My poor, Bethy. You've been stuck here with vampires like that?" She nodded with a little pout. "Don't worry, my love, I trust your plans and we'll be home soon." He lightly placed his lips against her jaw line near her ear and sent shivers through her as he breathed, "And Amerie will suffer torments not even the Devil himself could think up. We'll make all of Hell shudder at our viciousness towards that Slayer."

Buffy took in a shuddering, unneeded breath and gasped as Angelus bit down on her neck. He gulped a little and then pulled back, startled. "What?"

"Your blood…."

She sighed and got up. "It's a taste you'll have to get used to. Our old bodies are gone and the one I inhabit was once a Slayer…."

Angelus cut her off by kissing her hard and deep. "It's a taste I could live with for all eternity. It's so…."

Buffy laughed. "Angelus speechless? I've never known such an occasion!"

"I've never tasted anything like it before. I taste a Slayer and myself and honey and…." He broke off and bit back down on her neck. She moaned and leaned her head back, loving the feel of him sucking on her neck. "Oh, my darling Bethy!" He kissed her again and she tasted her blood on his lips. "Amerie won't know what hit her. You'll be so powerful, she won't be able to stop you now." Angelus paused for a minute.

"What my love?"

"And me? This body doesn't feel as powerful as my old one."

"I'm afraid it's not. You were much more vigorous before, but this Angelus…. He wasn't trained properly. He wasn't as brutal." She smiled. "No matter, darling. We have all eternity to make it powerful again. You'll be back to your old self in no time."

"And you?"

"What about me?"

"You're much more powerful than you used to be. It could make you careless."

"Oh, really, Angelus…."

"Don't argue with me. You don't know the full extent of your power now you have Slayer's blood as your original life source. You need to learn it before you go against Amerie. You need to discover your limits again."

"Angelus, she could be long dead before I discover the limits of my strength."

"Then you'd better get started." Buffy turned away from him and walked across the room. "Oh, Bethy. You know I'm right."

"Of course I know you're right, but I don't want to admit it. This body is so strange to me. It's exactly the same, but it's completely different. And there's really no time to train it properly. I want Amerie's death at our hands to be precise and artistic, but if neither of us has the control over our bodies as we used to…. Her death will be too swift and too messy."

"We'll learn. We're both fast learners." He gently gripped her hips and pulled her back to him, lowering his mouth to her ear. "I remember all those nights where we learned our bodies and made them hum." Buffy smiled and leaned back into him. "Those lessons were the quickest of any I can think of." He turned her towards him and she lifted her face to his. He pressed his lips to hers and wove his fingers through her hair, tugging slightly.

* * *

Giles paced his apartment. The sun had gone down and he was worried that his spell hadn't worked since the vampires weren't there. If the spell hadn't worked, then Angelus would be livid, he would probably kill Buffy or at least make her pay, and there's no telling what he could do to Giles. Finally deciding to be wise, he walked over and picked up the book he'd been reviewing. It was the spell that would ultimately take Buffy and Angelus back to her world.

A part of him couldn't wait to get rid of the vampires, but the other part of him was sad they were leaving. Once they were gone, he would have no one to talk to. Strange as it sounded, it was the deepest, darkest truth. They had killed his Slayer's friends and they were his friends as well, so the only thing left for him would be to go back to England where the Council would be waiting. But they would shun him once they discovered what he had done. He would have no one. And the prospect of meeting new people was a scary one for a man his age.

Giles jumped halfway out of his skin when the banging on his door began. He laid down the book and nervously opened the door. It was Spike. "They sent me here to fetch you and your books." Spike noticed the look on Giles' face. "Don't worry, mate. Your spell worked. It's her bloke now. And surprise, surprise! She's even more queenly with him around. It's like they're Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn reincarnated in all their pompous glory."

"And what of Angelus?"

"What of him? He's undead again and back with her. They were plotting their revenge on that Slayer when I left them."

"He's not planning to…." Giles paused, terrified of the answer to his unfinished question.

"Nah. You're not going to your death. He just wants to meet you and see how he can help. He's just as anxious to get home as she is." Spike lit a cigarette. "Load em up and let's get a move on. I'm peckish."


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Angelus sat on the throne-like chair in the main room of the mansion near the fireplace while Buffy stood next to it, leaning against the side of it with Angelus' arm around her thighs. Giles sat on the sofa in front of them, holding his books. Spike stood on the other side of the room just inside the French doors watching Drusilla play in the garden. Giles was explaining the details of the spell to Buffy and Angelus.

"Once the spell starts, you have to focus on the one thing you want the most and not lose sight of it." He said.

"That should be relatively easy." Angelus said.

"Your minds can't stray from it. It has to be the only thing on your minds."  
"I'm sure we can do it." Buffy said. "We're over 200 years old. Our minds can do whatever we wish of them."

"When do we get started?" Angelus asked.

"Well, I'm not sure I'm ready." Giles said. He noticed Buffy place her hand lightly on Angelus' shoulder as if to restrain him and then he saw the angry glint in Angelus' eyes. "I mean, I want to put more into it to guarantee that you two make it to your destination."

"How long will it take?" Buffy asked calmly.

"I'm not sure." Her hand tensed, ready for Angelus' movement if he made one. "A couple of days."

"And what do you need for this spell?"

"I'll have to let you know."

Buffy sighed. "Very well."

"The spell is very old. One the Druids used only a small number of times. I daresay that I'll most likely need a sacrifice to make it work."

Angelus' eyes lit up. "Well, why didn't you say so? We can provide that."

"I'd like to try the spell without one, though."

Angelus shook his head. "No chances. We get it right the first time."

"I agree." Buffy said. She saw the shadow pass over Giles' face. "Watcher, we'll make the sacrifice. You just do the spell. Wouldn't want that conscience of yours to be even more dirtied up, now would we?" Giles nodded and left the mansion.

"Are we done?" Spike asked.

Buffy rolled her eyes and looked over at Spike. "No one even asked you to be here."

"I know. I just couldn't bring myself to miss the show."

"What show were you hoping to see?" Angelus asked.

"You two soddin' off my world so I can get to it."

"And what would you be getting to?" Buffy asked.

Spike shrugged. "A little bit of this. A little bit of that. Maybe even a little bit of the Watcher."

"I told you. The Watcher is not to be harmed."

"And how do you think you're going to stop me once you two leave?"

"Because the Watcher is coming with us."

Spike, Angelus, and even Drusilla all snapped their gazes at Buffy. "What?" Angelus asked.

"Yes. The Watcher comes with us. I can't guarantee his safety and I will not kill Spike. As much as it pains me to admit, he's been somewhat of a help to us. But not as much as the Watcher. So, he comes with us. Once we get back to our world, we change the Watcher."

"Bethy, I believe this place has gotten to your head. When we get back, I'm taking you for a long vacation." He saw the protest coming before she could even speak a word. Smiling, he took her hand and kissed her perfectly pale wrist. "We'll take Amerie with us. I said it would be a long vacation and what's a vacation without a little fun in the mix?"

Buffy smiled. "It doesn't change my mind, darling. The Watcher comes with us. His brain could be of use to us."

Angelus sighed. "How?"

"He's got an infinite amount of knowledge running around in his head."

"Because of his books. They're no use to us here."

"Then we'll take them with us."

"The more you wish to take with us, the more you risk us not getting home. We could end up in some other world that's worse than this place."

"Then we'll leave the books here. I'm sure we can find his books where we come from."

"Why do you want to take this Watcher back with us so bad?"

"He's a Watcher. The Council has been after us for almost two centuries." He started to protest, but she cut him off. "They allowed Amerie to practice magic. They knew it would defeat us."

"We're not defeated."

"But they think we are." Buffy leaned down to run her hand down Angelus' chest and rock-hard abs and whisper in his ear, "Imagine the possibilities if we had inside knowledge of the Council's workings…. Of the layout of the Council's headquarters. Imagine the things we could do without them ever having a chance to think twice about it." Angelus looked at her. "Once we've finished Amerie off, I want to leave her body at their headquarters to show that nothing, not even a half-witch Slayer, can stop us."

He smiled. "And the Watcher can provide everything we need to know."

Buffy stood up straight. "Provided we bring him over to our side."

"Bethy!" Angelus groaned.

"He won't tell us anything unless he's on our side. He could tell us untruthfully and we could be killed…. And this time without a way to come back!"

"I just don't like him. And the idea of changing him…." He shrugged. "I'm not happy about it."

"Nor am I. So, we'll kill him once we're through with him."

"I've always loved your brain, Bethy. Beauty and brains together are much sexier than just beauty."

Buffy smiled seductively and slid onto Angelus' lap.

* * *

Buffy stretched in bed and looked over at Angelus standing naked at the fireplace. He was staring into the flames as if they had hypnotized him. Buffy rolled onto her side, the sheets barely covering her, and propped herself up on one elbow, resting her head on her palm.

"What's wrong, lover?"

Angelus turned and looked at her. "Nothing. I'm fine."

"You're staring into those flames as if there was someone roasting in them."

"Because I wish there was." He walked over to the bed and moved over her to lay behind her, pulling her back to his chest.

Buffy stared at the flames now. "Soon enough, Angelus. Soon enough there will be blood in that fire and it will show that we have been restored to our former glory. The blood of the Watchers and their precious Amerie will be spilt and no one on Earth will match our strength and power."

"What did you do in the week after she killed me?"

"I grieved for you…. and I hunted her. I followed her across the country and I caught up with her outside of Paris. I thought I had her. I thought my anger and my grief had spurred me on to victory and vengeance, but her sorcery bested me." Buffy turned and looked at Angelus. "Never again."

* * *

Giles rushed into the mansion with paper bags in each arm. Buffy and Angelus looked over at him, startled. Angelus was once again on his throne and Buffy sat on the armrest. Spike and Drusilla were out for the night.

"I have it." Giles said, setting down the bags. "Everything I need is in these bags. Where shall I set up?"

Buffy smiled and stood up. "You're sure you have everything?"

"Yes, yes, of course."

She kicked the couch across the room, clearing a large space. "Then you may begin. We're ready to go home."

Giles looks at Buffy, his Slayer, and saw the differences that Elizabeth had made in her. It pained him, but not for much longer. Soon, he would be rid of these two. Giles set everything up in less than an hour and began the ritual. He chanted perfectly. Buffy and Angelus were in place and concentrating like he had instructed them to. Everything was perfect. So when he straightened up and looked around to see that not only had it worked and Buffy and Angelus were in a different place, he had also gone with them.

They stood in the huge bedroom of a beautifully decorated villa with lots of antique furniture. The bed was done in deep crimson sheets made of expensive Egyptian cotton and the huge four poster bed had drapes of black silk surrounding it. Buffy and Angelus looked around and Buffy squealed in delight.

"Oh, Angelus! We're home!" She rushed over to the bed and fell on the sheets. "They still smell of us!"

Angelus walked over to a chest of drawers and opened the second drawer. He pulled out a sharp, silver knife that glinted in the light of the room. "Ah, my favorite dagger."

"Amerie will feel its wrath." Buffy giggled as she picked up her antique silver brush and pulled it through her hair.

Angelus walked out of the room and down the hallway to the elaborate stairs and down into the living room. Giles shook his head. "I don't understand! I did it perfectly. Why am I…."

"Simply because we wanted you here." Buffy said, brushing past him.

"What? Why!?" Giles followed her. "And how did you manage to change the spell. It…."

"You said to concentrate on what we wanted most. Well, we most wanted you to be here with us."

"Why?"

Buffy ignored him and went into the living room where Angelus was lounging in his favorite chair, one leg propped over the arm. "I wonder how long we've been gone." He said.

"Probably the same amount of time we were in that hellish Sunnydale. We'll find out soon enough." Buffy peeked out the window to see if the sun was out. It was just now dusk as it had been in Sunnyhell.

"I bet Spike and Drusilla will be shocked."

"Well, they don't exist here, so we can't ask them."

"Again, I don't exist here, so why have you brought me?" Giles asked.

Angelus looked at Buffy. "Bethy, this is your call, not mine. You get to do the honors."

"You don't even want a little taste?" Buffy asked.

He smiled. "I didn't say that."

"Taste?" Giles asked.

"Of you, of course." Buffy said nonchalantly.

"Me? You brought me here to kill me?"

"No." Suddenly, Buffy and Angelus surrounded him. "We brought you here to help us." Angelus grabbed Giles' throat and bared the man's neck for Buffy. She vamped, still surprisingly beautiful with the grotesque features, and gently bit down on one side of Giles' neck. Angelus waited a moment and then bit down on the other side. In unison, they pulled away before Giles' heart stopped completely. Buffy slashed her wrist and forced the blood into Giles' mouth. The crimson liquid touched his tongue and it was like he was suddenly so thirsty, it was unbearable for him. In the back of his mind was a little voice screaming at him that this was wrong. That he didn't want this to be happening, but the blood tasted so good.

Then he couldn't taste it anymore. His eyesight failed him as did his hearing abilities. The world faded away as his heart stopped beating forever. Buffy and Angelus stared down at the body of the Watcher and Angelus huffed. "He tasted like dust and mold…. And I think sulfur."

"Well, I think the sulfur taste was from the spell. The rest…." Buffy shrugged. "Well, he did live around books most of his life." She sighed and fanned herself delicately with her hand. "I need to eat. He took a lot out of me."

Angelus smiled. "No need for you to make your glorious return feeling faint from hunger. Wouldn't be fitting."

"What do you suggest?" Angelus pulled the dagger from his back pocket and smirked. Buffy smiled as he drew the blade across the skin of his throat. She allowed him to pull her to him and guide her mouth to his throat. He moaned as she drew the blood from him slowly. Without him realizing it, which never happened, she had ripped his shirt open and was kissing, biting, and sucking her way down to his belt. On her knees, she walked backwards, gripping his belt buckle. She pushed him into a chair and freed his growing erection. Angelus relaxed, casually leaning back in his favorite chair as she pleasured him skillfully.

Just before he came, she stopped and stood up. He smiled as he watched her make a show of taking off her underwear from under her skirt. She placed a knee on each arm of the chair and lowered herself down onto him, causing her to go into a bent-kneed split. This was a new position for them. And one that sent both of them into sexual orbit. Angelus came twice and Buffy had multiple orgasms before collapsing on top of him.

"Satisfied, lover?" Angelus panted.

"That was…. I didn't know I could do that."

"That Slayer's body turned vampire is quite the sexual enhancer." He kissed the top of her head and leaned his back onto the back of the chair.

Buffy sighed again and stood up on shaky legs. She went back into the bedroom and brushed her hair out and changed her clothes. Buffy came back out wearing a beautiful, blood-red, strapless corset and leather pants. She grabbed her long, brocade coat and slipped it on. She looked every inch restored to her former glory.

As if she could read Angelus' thoughts, she shook her head. "I hate this hair."

"It will grow out again. I promise." Angelus patted his spiky hair. "As will mine."

"Get changed, darling. Tonight we make our return."

Angelus smiled and headed back into their bedroom. Outside, the sun had finally set over Rome. The city thrived with its nightlife. In this world, the demons outnumbered the humans in this city five to one. He looked out the window and spotted three demons strolling down the street in front of their villa. One of them noticed the movement in the window and stopped to stare. Angelus smirked at him and the demon turned to his comrades and said something. They all three looked up and then ran off. It was good to be back.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Buffy and Angelus drove out of their villa and onto the nighttime streets of Rome. Every demon they passed turned and whispered to their friends before staring at them. They made their way down to a house near the Vatican and got out. A few vampires stopped and gawked at them in awe. Apparently word traveled fast that the two had been destroyed.

Angelus knocked loudly on the door with the knocker and waited. The purple-ish colored demon butler with the red hair opened the door and gasped. "Is he home?" Angelus asked.

"Right…. right this way." The butler held open the door and tried desperately not to gawk. Buffy and Angelus followed the butler to the parlor down a hallway between the two staircases. The butler opened the door. "Sir, you have visitors."

The Immortal stood up and turned to look with astonishment. "I…. Elizabeth! Angelus! This is…. Well, to say a surprise would be an understatement."

Buffy smiled in amusement. "You wouldn't be the only surprised one, then."

"No, I would suppose not. So, the rumors weren't true?"

"Depends on the rumors." Angelus said.

"Well, the last I heard, you two had been taken out by the witch-Slayer. The demonic world mourned you."

"Really?"

"Well, some mourned. Others…." The Immortal smirked. "Well, they tried to take your place. So, how did you do it? How did you defy death for the second time in your lives?"

"I'm actually not clear." Buffy said. She sat down in one of the antique chairs. "When that bitch staked me, I guess she put a spell on me. I was stuck in my body in a different world."

"Not so bad."

"It was awful!"

"How so, lovely?"

"My body in that world just happened to be a Slayer. And on top of that, she was ill with some virus."

The Immortal looked shocked. "How did you escape?"

"The Angelus of that world…. He changed me."

"Wouldn't you two be enemies?"

"Of course, but the Slayer was no ordinary Slayer. Angelus wasn't ordinary either."

"How so?"

"He had a soul until he and the Slayer became intimate. Then he lost his soul because of some loophole about perfect happiness. The Slayer and Angelus…. They loved each other."

"Love? Well, your bond runs deep, I see. It echoes across worlds."

Buffy smiled. "I've always loved your poetic way with words."

The Immortal shrugged. "What happened to you, Angelus?"

"I was dead." Angelus said simply. He never really liked the Immortal. The guy had been a pain, but Buffy was taken by him as was every other female that came in contact with the guy.

"The Angelus of that world was a dunce." Buffy said spitefully. "I enlisted the help of the Slayer's Watcher to be rid of him."

"The Watcher?" The Immortal grinned, enjoying the tale. "How ever did you pull that feat off?"

"I destroyed his Slayer, so naturally he wanted to be rid of me. He helped me resurrect my Angelus and then to restore us to our world."

"He must be proud of himself." Buffy shrugged with a playful, secretive smirk pulling at the corners of her lips. "He got rid of two powerful vampires." This time Buffy let out a chuckle. "What did you do?"

"We brought him with us. He's laying dead on the floor of our living room."

"You brought him with you only to kill him?"

"To change him."

The Immortal laughed. "You've got something up your sleeve! I can see it in your eyes."

Buffy smiled flirtatiously. "You'll find out soon enough."

The Immortal clapped his hands and the butler entered the room. "A glass of brandy for me and…."

"I'll have a glass of your finest red." Buffy said. "Preferably that teenager I smelled on the way in."

The butler looked at Angelus. "I'll have the same." He tossed off, sitting down next to Buffy.

The Immortal took a seat across the coffee table from them. "So, you were a Slayer and now you're a vampire again? How do you feel?"

"Exquisite!" Buffy said. "You wouldn't believe the power that courses through me."

"Splendid!"

The butler returned with their drinks and each of them sipped delicately. Angelus was the one to get right down to business. "So, where is she?"

"Who?"

"You know who."

The Immortal sat back, swirling his brandy. "Ah, the witch-Slayer. The last time I heard any tellings of her, she was in London living in the Council's headquarters."

Buffy's right eyebrow lifted in surprised amusement. "Really? I didn't think they allowed active Slayers to live there."

"Apparently, she's a special case. You two really did a number on her. The Council took her in to watch her, not to care for her. I heard through a source of mine that she's being watched for her psychological health."

"A source in the Council. I'm impressed."

"Not nearly as impressed as I am with you. You've changed a Watcher!"

Buffy waved a hand indifferently. "I'm sure we're not the first."

"Of course you're not, but the vampires that changed Watchers did it for revenge. You're doing it for your own motives."

"Well, this works out then." Buffy said, looking at Angelus. "The Watcher knows the layout of the Council's headquarters, so if we can discover what part she's in, we can steal her away without risking our necks."

"Risking our necks?" Angelus said. "I hardly think that a house full of stuffy British men will pose much of a threat, Bethy."

"You'd be surprised." The Immortal said. "Who do you think trains the Slayers?"

"Watchers, obviously. I'm saying that the ones that hide in that building do nothing but sit around and read."

"I'd have to disagree, darling." Buffy said. "Those Watchers have nothing better to do until a new Slayer is called. They're all trained to teach their Slayers, if they ever get one, to fight. To hunt. To kill our kind. They're dangerous."

"Not nearly as dangerous as a Slayer."

"Of course not. But they also have magick-users in that place. I wouldn't be surprised if they had enchantments over that building to warn them if a demon stepped foot in there."

The Immortal set down his glass. "Well, in order for your plans to work, you'll need to keep a low-key profile until you've accomplished your task."

"Of course. It's kind of hard, though. Already we're like a stone tossed into a pond. It will be no time before the ripples of our return reach the ears of Amerie and the Council."

"I can do my best to contain the demonic whisperings. No need for your plans to be ruined. But do promise me, lovely, that I can throw a welcome back party in your honors."

"Of course. You know how I love a good party and you do throw some of the best I've been to in the last couple of centuries."

The Immortal helped Buffy to stand. "Ah, the death of the Slayer will be a glorious announcement to the world that you two are back."

"That's what we hope for." Buffy slipped her arm into Angelus'.

"Allow me to provide your transportation to England. That way those ripples won't become tidal waves on your journey through Europe."

"That would be wonderful. Thank you." Buffy kissed the Immortal on both cheeks.

"I'll send over the car tomorrow night to take you to the airport."

"Thank you. I knew we could count on you to help us."

Angelus, despite his abhorrence towards the Immortal, shook the man's hand and thanked him for his help as well. The butler led them back out to the front door.

* * *

The next night, Buffy and Angelus were escorted to the airport in a limo provided by the Immortal. Giles' body had been tossed in the trunk. In London, a beautiful, two story flat was waiting for them. It was the Immortal's own residence there and Buffy had only seen it once with Darla just before they'd gone to Ireland.

Buffy sat opposite Angelus and looked out the window as the plane cut through the nighttime clouds. Giles' body was tied up in the seats in the back of the plane now. Angelus looked at Buffy. "You better hope he wakes up before we get there."

"I don't have to worry." Buffy said, not looking at him as she took a sip of the blood in her champagne flute. "That's why we have the Immortal's flat. We can hide out there until the Watcher comes to and then plan our attack."

"This won't work."

"I don't remember you being so negative." Buffy looked at him and for the first time, Angel realized that her eyes had changed. They were an ice blue that had an ethereal glow behind them that made them look cold and sinister. "Darling, this is our big come back. It will work. I'll make sure of it even if I have to kill every person that comes in contact with us to ensure this works."

Angelus sat back in his seat and sipped his blood. "I'm sorry, baby. I've been dead. You haven't. A few days ago, I was dust in the wind." He paused. "Actually…. I believe I still am." He laughed. "Funny."

Buffy rolled her eyes. "You're getting demented in your old age. And not the good demented."

"You're older than me."

"Well, if you want to get into technicalities…."

Angelus laughed. "I'm staying away from technicalities. They make my head hurt and I don't have anyone but the pilot to kill. And he's a demon, so he wouldn't even taste good."

"You've got a perfectly good five year old in that champagne flute. Why are you bitching?"

Angelus smiled. "Come to the back with me."

"Why?"

"We've got another hour or so before the plane lands." His hand reached out and ran it up the inside of her thigh. His fingers pushed aside the expensive underwear and up inside her. Buffy gasped in pleasure and set down her glass, her head falling back against the seat as Angelus worked his fingers inside her. Her head lifted back up and her icy eyes met his and then she was straddling him, desperately trying to get his pants undone without tearing them. He gripped her butt tightly, squeezing, and lifted her up, carrying her to the bedroom in the back of the plane.

* * *

"This flat is even more beautiful than I remember!" Buffy gasped as they walked in. Angelus stood next to her and looked around.

The human-looking butler carried Giles' body in. "Where do you want him, ma'am?"

Buffy waved her hand. "Wherever your master would put a dead body. Just make sure he's chained up. I don't want him to escape before our plans can be enacted."

"Yes, ma'am." The butler dragged Giles' body down a hallway and out of site. The two doormen that had met them at the airport, carried Buffy and Angelus' bags in and carried them down the hall to the master bedroom.

While Angelus went to check out the kitchen, Buffy followed the doormen to the bedroom. It was like stepping back into the Renaissance. The bed was made for a king. It was huge and had a ceiling to it with thick curtains. When one laid on the bed and looked up, there was a beautiful painting of devils and angels painted there. All through the woodwork there were devils and angels carved in vivid detail. Buffy ran her fingers over one of the posts, examining the carvings.

"It's from the time of the Tudors." The butler said, walking in behind her.

"I figured as much." Buffy said, still admiring the woodwork. "Was this here in 1752?"

"No, ma'am. This bed resided in the master's home in Paris in the 18th century."

"It's beautiful."

"This was the master's bed during the reign of King Henry VII, his son King Henry VIII, King Edward, Queen Mary, and then Queen Elizabeth I. He was friends with the monarchs themselves."

"I don't doubt it."

"You and Angelus will be sleeping in here. If there's anything I can help you with, just ring this bell." The butler gestured to a silk rope hanging from the ceiling. "The bell rings in my room downstairs and I'll be up to assist you as soon as possible."

"Good. Where did you put the Watcher?"

"He's tied up in the guest bedroom, ma'am. It's the third door on the right from this room."

"Thank you."

"Anytime. I'm at your service, ma'am."

"Good. That'll be all for now."

"Yes, ma'am." The butler bowed and left.

For the first time in a long time, Buffy felt like royalty. The Immortal had always made sure she felt that way. She was a special vampire to him. They had had a hot little fling in 1752, just before Buffy left with Darla for Ireland and discovered Angelus. The Immortal was still fond of Buffy, so he doted upon her as often as he could. Angelus knew about the fling and he knew that the Immortal still held affection for Buffy, that's why he didn't like the Immortal very much. Buffy thought it was adorable, the rivalry between them. The Immortal knew that Buffy was devoted to Angelus, but Angelus was still agonizing over whether the Immortal could win her back.

Buffy chuckled and walked into the living room where Angelus was looking out the window at London. The glass was necrotempered, created by a law firm called Wolfram and Hart, so it allowed vampires to be able to stand in the sun without burning to death. Buffy slipped her arms around Angelus' waist and kissed his back. He held onto Buffy's hands and leaned back into her.

"Ah, Bethy. My Bethy." Angelus sighed.

"Yes, lover?" Buffy asked.

"We need to find a magician to bind that Watcher to us until we dispose of him."

"I'll ask the butler. I'm sure he knows somebody."

"We should've done it before we left Rome. The Council will detect the magicks and they'll be on alert."

Buffy sighed and pulled away from Angelus. "Who cares? They won't know it's us until too late. We'll have Amerie and will have gone back to Italy with our prize."

"You have this all planned out in your head, don't you?"

She smiled. "Of course I do. You have always had little faith in anything, Angelus. Even me."

"I've always had faith in you. I trust you more than anything on this planet."

Buffy shook her head with a knowing smile. "I know you trust me, but that's completely different than having faith in me. You trust me, but you sometimes don't believe I can do what I set my mind to. It's a subconscious thing, darling. You don't mean to. So, I forgive you time and time again because I love you."

"And what happens when you stop being so forgiving?"

"That will never happen. One day, probably sooner than you think, you'll realize that not only do you trust me, but you now have faith in me as well."

Angelus walked over to her and wrapped her in his arms. "What makes you think I don't have faith in you now?"

"I know because you're still questioning. You'll stop questioning one day."

"Do you question me?"

"Never. Can you think of any one time I've questioned you?"

Angelus shook his head. "Not off the top of my head, no. You have faith in me?"

"I believe you can do what you set your mind to. I would follow you into hell if you had a mind to do it. Yes, I have faith in you."

Angelus chuckled. "Even without a conscious you can make me feel guilty."

Buffy shrugged. "It's a gift." She ran her hands up his chest and wrapped her arms around his neck. "We've got time to kill now. Whatever shall we do?" Angelus grabbed her waist and hauled her off her feet up onto his shoulder, carrying her towards the master bedroom.


	13. Chapter 13 NEW

A/N Sorry it's taking me so long to update. I've got A LOT going on right now. But I have been slowly working on my website with ALL my fanfiction on it, including stories that aren't on here. I've added a forum where you leave feedback about individual stories and there's a guestbook. I've made graphics for almost every story on there. Please go check it out. www. freewebs. com / buffylfanfiction (Just get rid of the spaces.)

Buffy and Angelus were walking by the guest room when they heard growling coming from inside. Angelus chuckled. "Looks like your play thing is awake."

Buffy rolled her eyes. "Order the butler to pull someone off the street for him." Buffy opened the door to the room and saw Giles bound and gagged on the floor. He was thrashing violently and growling into his gag. His face was rigid and his eyes were yellow. Buffy smiled and kneeled down. "Welcome to our world." She grabbed his neck and easily hauled Giles to his feet, holding him off the floor. "We'll get you a human as soon as we can, but for right now, while your brain is still feral and new, I'm going to drill this into your head." She tossed him onto the bed. "You're here for one purpose and one only: To be our guide. You're going to map out the Watcher's Council's headquarters in the most vivid detail. You're going to tell us where they would harbor a Slayer. You're going to tell us the best route to get in there. You're going to tell us the best way to smuggle that Slayer out. If you do anything funny, I will make you regret ever crossing Angelus and I. You are our guide. Nothing more. Nothing less. You will not be our friend. You will not be our confidante. You will be our guide to the Council. Afterwards, we will let you go. But you are never to contact us again. If we see you, we will kill you. You are our guide. Nothing more. Nothing less."

Angelus walked. "Are you getting speechy for him?" Buffy smiled at Angelus. "You know how much that turns me on and you made me miss it."

"I'll make it up to you later." Buffy turned back to Giles and grabbed his face viciously. Her nails dug into his cheek and drew blood. "Did you understand everything I said to you?" Giles nodded as best he could, still growling from a newborn's hunger. "Good." She tossed him on the bed again and walked out, Angelus following her. Buffy sat down on one of the lavish chairs and looked at Angelus. "A fledgling's mind is like a sponge when they are first turned. If you tell them they are nothing, than they will be nothing. If you tell them they are yours forever, they will be devoted to you forever."

"Did you play with my mind?"

"No. You pledged your love and loyalty to me before I turned you."

Angelus kissed Buffy's knuckles. "And it's even more powerful this day than it was that night."

Buffy smiled and kissed Angelus passionately. "I could not fathom a world without you, my love."

"You've lived without me for a week." He pointed out.

"And I cannot remember anything but despair and a longing to end my existence and take down Amerie with me."

The butler walked in dragging a struggling human with him. The woman he held in his arms had dark brown hair and hazel eyes. Her skin was an olive color. She was quite beautiful. Buffy thought it was a waste of beauty, but Giles was hungry and this was the only fresh human they had at the moment.

"Take her to the guest bedroom." Buffy instructed. The butler dragged her off towards the room.

"Shame." Angelus said. "She was beautiful. Someone's going to miss her."

"Yes. Next time we'll have to make sure that the butler picks a hobo or something of that sort. We don't need the police breathing down our necks."

There was a scream from the other room and then it was cut short. The butler came out with a horrified look on his face. Angelus chuckled. "You work for the Immortal, but that makes you squeamish?"

The butler shrugged. "If there's nothing else…."

"Actually," Buffy said. "I'm sure the Watcher needs clothing. Lock him in that room until you can bring him out clean and decent. Tell him to take a shower."

"Yes, ma'am." The butler quickly told Giles to shower and then he locked the door to the guest bedroom and dashed off to the nearest clothing store.

Buffy knew that he would put the clothing on the Immortal's account and the Immortal wouldn't think anything of it. In fact, Buffy knew he wouldn't even notice. The Immortal's wealth was immeasurable. He had more money than all of the richest people in the world had combined and then you could probably multiply that by one thousand and still not have the amount the Immortal was worth. That's why Buffy kept him as a friend. He had the power and the wealth to take out his enemies without anyone batting an eye until it was too late.

Angelus stood up and poured Buffy a glass of blood. "Thank you." Buffy said offhandedly.

"What's on your mind, Bethy?"

"Oh…." Buffy stood up and walked to the windows. London was beautiful at night. "I was just thinking about Amerie."

"And?"

"Well, I'm wondering if it wouldn't be wise to have the Immortal hire some people to steal her away from the Council and bring her to us."

"Why?"

"What do you think?" She turned to look at him. "Would it be more shocking and dramatic if we were to capture her? Or would it be more shocking and dramatic if someone else was to capture her and bring her to us?"

Angelus pondered that for a long moment. "Well, either way, she's going to be shocked that we're alive and not dead at her hands." He shrugged. "I think it would be more fun for us to capture her ourselves. But we should hire some people to go in with us."

"The more people we have in there, the better the chances are of us getting caught. If we go in, it's to be just you and me and maybe one other person."

"The Watcher?"

"My thinking exactly. Who better to lead us to the Slayer? Neither one of us is good at listening to directions."

Angelus chuckled. "No, we aren't. All right, we'll make the Watcher come with us."

Buffy giggled with delight. "We can even go home sooner than expected!" She stood up. "We'll take her tonight! We can have fun with her throughout tomorrow and take her home tomorrow night where the real fun can begin."

Angelus smiled at Buffy's sudden bought of happiness. "Whatever you wish, Bethy. The world is yours for the taking if you like it."

Buffy smiled happily. "Oh, that butler needs to hurry up."

Giles was dressed in a dark green sweater and black pants with a pair of men's dress boots on. He sat in one of the chairs facing the two that Buffy and Angelus sat in. Now that he had fed, he was feeling and looking much better. He didn't need his glasses any longer, so he had gotten rid of them. "I've been wrong this entire time." He said.

"About what?" Buffy asked, always the more civilized one.

"I am Giles. But I'm also a demon."

"Yes. It's always worked that way."

"I've thought that a demon was just a demon and that they only hosted the memories from the previous owner of the body. But I was wrong. I'm still Giles…. Only, I'm free from the constraints of a conscious and free from the restraints of society."

"That's not entirely true." Angelus said.

"Why not?"

"You still have to conform to some of the restraints of society. It's easier that way."

"Easier?"

"Well, if the police were to catch on to you…. There's no telling what would happen. You have to cover your trail."

"Or turn it into an art form as Angelus and I have." Buffy said.

"Art form?" Giles asked.

"Play it up. Scare more people." Angelus said. "Don't just kill a family. Arrange them so they're just laying there in their beds like they're asleep."

"One would think you would be more for brutality."

"No. Well," Angelus chuckled. "Sometimes. Sometimes it's fun to let yourself go and kill just for the sake of killing and making a mess. But we prefer to decorate our kills."

"This is the reason we are feared among the humans." Buffy said. "And the demons. They know the things we are capable of. They know we do not care if they are friend or foe. We will not hesitate to take a life if the owner of that life has crossed us."

"It's like the Code of Hammurabi."

"'An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.' That sort of thing?" Giles asked.

"Exactly. Only, when we turn the tables on them, we make the 'eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth' part literal. The punishment will be drawn out and merciless. It's the only way to keep people in fear of you and to keep them from trying anything."

"And Amerie?"

"Will suffer losses more than just an eye and a tooth." Buffy growled. "She knows not the hell we will rain down upon her."

Giles chuckled. "She knows not that you're even alive."

"Remember, fledgling. You belong to us now. We made you and we will break you if you cross us. You were blind once before, we can make it so again."

Giles nodded. "Very well." He crossed one leg over another. "I can get you into the Council's headquarters and I can take you to the dormitories where the Slayer will most likely be kept. I'll have to perform a spell to cover our entrance. They have wards over the building to warn them of any demonic disturbance."

"How long will that take?" Buffy asked.

"A few seconds. It's only a few words."

"Good."

"After that, it's just a matter of getting through the maze and then getting back out with your stolen Slayer."

"We'll take her out the window." Angelus said with a casual shrug.

"Yes, if you fancy having your legs broken."

Buffy laughed. "We're not human. Angelus and I can step from a ten story building without being hurt."

Giles blinked and then chuckled. "Forgive me, I'm still new."

"It's quite all right."

"So, do we have a plan then?" Angelus asked. Buffy and Giles nodded. "Good. I'll let the butler know to get the car ready."

* * *

Buffy and Angelus followed Giles through the maze that was the Watcher's Council headquarters. Giles' spell had worked and the mystical detectors hadn't gone off. The Watchers were all in bed. Dawn was in about three hours, so no one would be rising yet. If there was someone, Buffy just planned to break their neck before they could sound any alarms. 

Giles paused and then looked at Buffy and Angelus. "She's near." Buffy said. All vampires could feel when a Slayer was nearby, but some just didn't know what that feeling was and how to use it to their advantage. Now, Buffy and Angelus took the lead and followed that sensation in the pit of their stomach until they knew that Amerie was behind the door on their right.

"There's someone else in there with her." Angelus growled.

"Then we kill them." Buffy wrapped a hand around the doorknob and twisted. The lock broke and the door swung open. The room was pitch black, but the three vampires could see. Amerie lay sleeping on one of the full sized beds in the room. Another woman was asleep in the other. The breaking lock hadn't woken them, so Angelus went to the sleeping woman and snapped her neck while Buffy walked calmly to Amerie's bed. The breaking neck actually snapped Amerie awake and she sat up in bed.

Her eyes went wide when she saw the familiar blonde hair and petite form. "No. You're dead! You're not real! Gerry, wake up! Gerry!"

Angelus walked over and smiled. "Oh, was that Gerry?" He pointed to the other bed where Gerry's neck was at an odd angle. "We warned you not to get close to anyone. You knew this would happen."

"I killed you. No. You're figments of my imagination!" Amerie jumped out of bed and shook Gerry. "Wake up. I need you. You need to help me get rid of them."

Buffy grabbed Amerie's shoulders and spun her around. "Gerry got off easy. After the hell you've put me through, this is only the beginning." Buffy stabbed the needle of the syringe in Amerie's neck and pushed the plunger down. Within seconds, Amerie's legs gave out as the drug took effect and knocked her unconscious.

Angelus grabbed Amerie up on his shoulder and went to the balcony doors. "That's convenient."

Buffy nodded as she kicked open the doors. She jumped down first followed by Angelus and then Giles last. They rushed off towards the limo waiting for them a block away and sped back to the Immortal's flat. Buffy could hardly contain herself from torturing Amerie on the seemingly longer drive back to the flat. The only thing that stopped her was the fact that the Slayer was passed out. She probably wouldn't come around until later on in the day.

Angelus saw Buffy's pout and laughed at her. "Oh, Bethy! We'll have our fun with her soon enough."

When they got to the flat, the butler was waiting for them. He informed them that the plane was fueled and ready to go at the Immortal's insistence. The Immortal thought that Buffy and Angelus would enjoy torturing Amerie in the comfort of their own dungeon. Buffy knew that, in truth, the Immortal didn't want any blood stains in his flat or questioning neighbors poking around once the screaming began. To tell the truth, Buffy didn't want that either. The flat was beautiful and everything in it was old. Some of it even older than herself.

The butler had everything packed and ready to go. He loaded it into the limo's trunk and instructed the driver to take them to the airport where the jet was waiting. A footman would be there waiting to load the bags on the plane. Chains were provided to hold Amerie in the back of the plane.

Soon, the three vampires were on their way back to Italy. Giles sat in one of the seats across the aisle from Buffy and Angelus. He looked over at them. "What are you planning to do with me?"

Buffy looked over at Giles. "What?"

"Well, one would think you wouldn't want me around. You two have what you wanted of me. Why would you take me back to Italy?"

"Maybe you amuse us. Why? Did you have plans for your life?"

"Well, before…. I just wanted to be with a woman I loved and have children and be a good Watcher. Seeing as how I failed to save the woman I loved and I failed my Slayer, my life really had no purpose."

"And you think we gave you one?" Angelus asked, laughing.

"No. I believe you changed me for one reason, to acquire your Slayer without hassle, and then you were going to dispatch of me."

Buffy chuckled and looked at Angelus. "I didn't think we were that transparent." Angelus just shrugged. Buffy looked back at Giles. "Well, that was the plan."

"So, what now?"

"Don't get me wrong. We're not creating a little vampire family or anything. But you might be useful to have around."

"Would you teach me?"

"Teach you what?"

"Teach me to be like you. You've survived this long for a reason. Most vampires don't make it out of their century…. Or even their decade. Special few make it as long as you have. Maybe if I learn to be a vampire like the two of you, I'll find some way to make it on my own. A purpose in life, if you will."

Buffy laughed. "A purpose?"

"Yes. What's so funny about that?"

"Your purpose for everything is blood. You drink blood. You take life. You're a vampire. You're a killer. That is your purpose."

"Besides that. One cannot strive through life only for nourishment. Not when you have the ability to expand yourself as you two have."

Buffy laughed even harder. When she finally composed herself, she looked at Giles calmly, her icy blue eyes still shining. "It all boils down to the blood. To the kill. You do not become rich without blood on your hands. You do not become powerful without blood on your hands. We all, meaning us vampires, live because of the blood. Not only does it nourish us, but it provides us with further wealth and further power. Without blood vampires would be nothing. Without blood, Angelus and I would be nothing. Do you understand?"

"So you're saying that I cannot be anything without my victims."

"Think of them as…. Your fans. Without fans, celebrities would be nothing…. Have nothing."

"Without victims, vampires would be nothing and have nothing."

"Exactly."

"So, until I learn to kill and take from them their wealth and power, I can have no ambitions of my own."

"Yes. And until then, you are bound to us. That is the mistake of fledglings and their sires. That is the reason most vampires do not make it out of their own century. Most sires create a fledgling because they are lonely and at the time, the person they have changed seemed like someone they could share their immortal life with. That is truly the rarest thing in the universe: Perfect compatibility. Perfect immortal love. But often is the case that after only a couple of years together, they can't stand each other and the fledgling and the sire are left to fend for themselves. The sire does not care to have patience with the fledgling to teach them the skills they should know. And it's not always the sire's fault. Maybe his sire did not teach him or the sire before did not pass on the proper knowledge. So many vampires get created and are left to their own devices. They have no clue how to properly function. Some of them get cocky and think they can go against a Slayer and win. As a former Watcher, I'm sure you've seen that case time and again."

"Of course."

"So you see why I've only ever made Angelus? The process of creating a proper vampire does not end with the simple exchange of blood. It is months, years, decades even, of training."

"Has Angelus ever made any other vampires here? Back in my world he made quite a few."

Buffy rolled her eyes. "Only in his youth did he make a couple. They didn't last long."

"Mainly because you killed them." Angelus shot at her.

"They wouldn't have survived anyway. That boy…. James, I believe his name was…. He was too cocky for his own good. He left a trail wherever we went and marked his victims so everyone, including the humans, knew where we were and who we were. The stake through his heart was what he deserved."

"Are you not afraid that he will double cross you as you did Darla?" Giles asked.

Angelus looked over sharply at Giles. "I'll put a stake through my own heart before I ever double cross her. Do not question my loyalty again."

"Angelus was loyal to me even when he was human. We've been together for 245 years. I learned everything I needed from my sire. She didn't have anything useful to show me anymore. Everything else I was learning on my own. When Angelus came along, I had found in him what I was missing with Darla. That is why I double crossed her. I did not need her."

"And you need Angelus?"

"Like humans need oxygen."

"And Angelus needs you?"

"She _is_ my oxygen." Angelus said, reaching out and taking Buffy's hand. "She _is_ the blood I drink to survive. Without her, I would be nothing."

"Would it serve me any to find a mate of my own?"

Buffy shrugged. "Like I said: Immortal love is the rarest jewel in the universe. If you should find it, then you should seize it. But do not go looking for it. If you look for it, you will never find it."

"What if I never find it?"

"Then you never find it. You can take your pleasure in a number of others to while away the years."

Giles nodded and looked out the window at the growing light of dawn as he contemplated what everything his sires had said to him and what it meant for him.


End file.
